Fool
by Strains of Violins
Summary: Read the note in my bio if you've been reading this story!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Author's Note: The song used here is called "Fool" by Marie Digby.

&

She stared up at the bathroom ceiling, her head cocked sideways as though there were a math equation painted on the titling. Her arms were at her sides and her legs were raised, her bare feet pressed firmly against the door. She had taken her shirt off to use as a pillow beneath her head so that the back of it didn't hurt when she got up. The cool floor felt good against her warm skin. All in all she was fairly content laying there.

She had been laying on the bathroom floor for a little over an hour. It was where she always went whenever she wanted to be alone. It was something that she had done her whole life. Her experience was that people walked into her bedroom without knocking all the time. But nobody had ever walked in on her in the bathroom without knocking. The bathroom was the only place she ever felt like she could go without being bothered.

"'Ay Charlotte!" Henry called from the other side of the door as he knocked. After a moment he knocked again. "'Ay!"

"I don't respond to that name." Zelda murmured, her eyes still on the ceiling.

"What?!"

"I said I don't respond to that name!" She shouted, sitting up.

"You do when I introduce you on that stage Charlotte." Henry chuckled. "Come on girl you're on in five."

"Yeah, yeah fuck off Henry." Zelda answered, roughly pulling her shirt on.

"Same to you…_Charlotte_." His chuckle faded as he walked away from the bathroom door.

Zelda got up off of the floor. She grabbed up the contact case that was sitting on the edge of the sink and twisted open both ends at once. Once she had blinked in both reddish-brown colored lenses, she opened the door and went directly into her bedroom.

She rummaged through the piles of clothes on the floor, smelling each pair of pants she encountered. Once she located a pair of jeans that smelled clean, she shimmied out of the pair she had on and danced into the clean ones. The last thing she did before leaving the room to head for the bar downstairs was step into the hiking boots that were always by the door.

Downstairs, she could hear the commotion coming from the bar. There was talking and laughing and clapping and stomping. A few weeks ago, the place had been empty. But ever since Zelda had come, more and more people had found their way to The Web.

As she walked through the beads that hung from the doorway leading out into the bar, she grabbed her boater off the peg and tucked her long hair up underneath it as she glided behind the bar.

"Hey there Charlotte." One of the guys at the bar said.

"Yeah." She responded without pausing. "Hey, hey Tom. Tom! Where the fuck is Bruise at? I don't see her anywhere."

"Relax…she's up onstage already." Tom answered, looking away from making his drinks for a moment.

"Goddamnit! I thought I made myself clear that she wasn't to be left up there. Anyone could take her or fuck her up. Come on." Zelda angrily stomped out from behind the bar and up onto the small stage where Henry was introducing her.

"Nuh-uh you can take your seat girlie but don't you start playing 'til I've introduced your ass." Henry said with a shake of his head and a serious look on his face.

"Whatever." Zelda muttered under her breath. She picked up her acoustic guitar and examined it thoroughly, a hand gliding down the neck and then stroking the body. When she was satisfied that it hadn't been damaged, she sat down on the stool.

"Alright, alright…I know you all didn't come here to listen to me talk. So I'd like to introduce, without any further fuckin' ado, the spider of our web, Little Miss Charlotte." Henry took great pleasure in calling Zelda the stage name he had come up with, despite the blatant fact that she hated it.

He hopped off the stage and jogged back to the bar as everyone clapped.

"He only calls me _Little_ Miss Charlotte because he's terribly ashamed of the package he _doesn't_ have." Zelda mumbled into the microphone. She didn't even pause while many of the people laughed. "Yeah…so this one's called 'Fool' and it's not mine."

With that, Zelda began to strum her guitar. She was a completely different person whenever she played and sang. Her voice was clear and stunning. Her range was incredible, especially for her young age.

"It's 3 am as I stumble over to my bed, got a funny premonition that tomorrow's gonna be the same, but all I remember, is how we think I heard you call my name, and your open invitation to come over for a drink or two. And though I knew too well, the true intentions of your secret smile, I couldn't stop, I couldn't tell you no, I hate to say I'm giving in to you.

I wake up next to you, I went through with it, I fell in love with a fool, and I know I'm not the only one, you laid your trap pitifully obvious, but sometimes a good girl falls through, it's true, I'm not the only one, to fall in love with a fool, I fell in love with a fool.

At the end of the hall, in room number 804, lives the devil himself in his dark kept secret hell, and curiosity grew with every single following day, and I would dream, dream that you're here with me, I hate to say I'm giving in to you.

I wake up next to you, I went through with it, I fell in love with a fool, and I know I'm not the only one, you laid your trap pitifully obvious, but sometimes a good girl falls through, it's true, I'm not the only one, to fall in love with a fool, I fell in love with a fool.

I wake up next to you, I went through with it, I fell in love with a fool, and I know I'm not the only one, you laid your trap pitifully obvious, but sometimes a good girl falls through, it's true, I'm not the only one, to fall in love with a fool, I fell in love with a fool."

Zelda commanded everyone's attention when she sang. Each and every patron erupted into applause when she had finished the song. But she wasn't one to drink in the attention she got. She was just there to bring people into the bar. And to scout out the guy she would date until it was time to pick up and move again.

A few songs later, a fight broke out. It was between two men, and, after they were thrown out of the place by both Henry and Tom, most of the patrons went outside to see what would happen. Zelda followed them with Bruise in hand.

She watched as the two men squared off outside the bar. One of them was a full head taller than the other. He had messy, jet black hair that had been pulled into a ponytail at the base of his neck. His face was scruffy. He wore dirty clothes. The other man had short, sandy blonde hair. He looked like he must have just gotten off work before coming to the bar because he had on a business suit. The fight was over in a minute or two when the dark haired guy brought the other guy to his knees with a good punch to the jaw.

"Ding ding ding…we have a winner." Zelda muttered to herself, her eyes on the winner of the fight.


	2. The Ghost of Christmas Past

**Chapter One - The Ghost of Christmas Past**

Author's Note: The song used in this chapter is called "Hey Man, Nice Shot" by Filter.

&

Zelda laid on the bathroom floor in her bra and panties, her beloved boater covering her face. She kept her palms pressed firmly over her ears while she pressed her bare feet against the door. Her legs shuddered as Adrian continued to bang on the door.

He had been yelling at her for the past ten minutes. He had been banging on the door for the past five. She was surprised he hadn't started slamming himself up against it. But then again she wasn't. It had taken a long week and a half for him to turn his violent streak on her. And even then he hadn't gone off the deep end. She sensed he wouldn't be on that level for another week or so.

"Open the fucking door Charlotte! Open the fucking door you stupid bitch!" Adrian shouted at the top of his lungs. The door shook as he continued to pound on it.

"I don't go by that name. How many times do I have to say that?" Zelda mused aloud, slowly sitting up. She held her hat in one hand while the other gathered up her hair to tuck beneath it as she settled it on her head.

"What the fuck did you just say?" He asked in disbelief.

"I said I don't go by that name! Are you fucking deaf?! Or are you just an idiot?!" She screamed in response, getting up off the floor.

"Don't you make me break down this fucking door!"

The doorknob began to twist and turn.

"You must be an idiot. That door is obviously locked!" Zelda called to him as she put her contacts in. "Take a hike. Come back in five minutes when I'm onstage."

"What the hell are you two doing?! When I can hear you two bitching at each other from the bar…you're too fucking loud! Get out of here Adrian or so help me God…" Henry's voice was suddenly on the other end of the door.

"You're gonna regret this later." Adrian growled.

"Yeah, yeah. Give her a good spanking later on your own time." Henry muttered under his breath as Zelda heard Adrian's footsteps fade. "Charlotte, get your going-to-be-spanked ass up on that stage or you're fired!"

Zelda opened the door and pushed past Henry to get into her bedroom.

"How many times have you threatened to fire me since I've started working here? Four? Five?" Zelda got dressed hurriedly.

"Just get the fuck downstairs alright?" Henry pointed in the direction of the bar.

"Whatever." She held up her middle finger as she shuffled down the stairs.

Zelda grabbed Bruise from Tom's waiting hands without pausing and headed for the stage. She ignored the guys that called out to her or tried to get her attention. She had already found the guy that she was going to allow to make her miserable.

"Henry isn't introducing me tonight. Aren't we all sad?" Zelda mumbled sarcastically into the microphone. She didn't smile or laugh, though a few of the patrons snickered. "This one is called 'Hey Man, Nice Shot'. And it ain't mine."

Zelda had come up with the arrangement herself. She knew the song well and it was a very hard song that required other instruments and a powerful voice. She had an acoustic guitar and a powerful voice. That was enough for her.

"I wish I would've met you, now it's a little late, what you could've taught me, I could've saved some face, they think that your early ending was all wrong, for the most part they're right, but look how they all got strung.

That's why I say, 'Hey man, nice shot, what a good shot, man,' that's why I say, 'Hey man, nice shot, what a good shot, man.'

Hey man, nice gun, hey man, have fun, nice shot.

Now that the smokes gone, and the air is all clear, those who were right there, had a new kind of fear, you'd fight and you were right but, they were just too strong, they'd stick it in your face, and let you smell what they consider wrong.

That's why I say, 'Hey man, nice shot, what a good shot, man,' that's why I say, 'Hey man, nice shot, what a good shot, man.'

Hey man nice gun, hey man, have fun, hey man nice gun, hey man, have fun, oh, nice shot man, oh nice shot man.

Oh, I wish I would've met you, I wish I would've met you, oh, I wish I would've met you, oh, I wish I would've met you, I'd say, 'Nice shot.'"

At the end of the song, the patrons of the bar all applauded and whistled and cheered like they usually did.

Zelda took a moment to rest her voice. She signaled to Tom, who reached under the bar and pulled out a water bottle. He threw it to her and she managed to catch it without losing her grip on Bruise.

She uncapped the water and was taking a generous drink when she noticed someone out of the corner of her eye. She immediately began to cough up the water she was drinking and dropped the half full bottle onto the stage. It spilled everywhere.

Zelda ignored the laughter and concern. She narrowed her eyes in the direction of the man she had spotted. He didn't shy away from her harsh gaze.

&

_Five Years Ago…_

"That sounded awesome." Zelda breathed as soon as the track had finished playing. "That solo was…breathtaking Link."

"Thanks-"

"Hey, hey now Zellie…what did you think of the bass line?" Alex asked, wrapping his arms around Zelda from behind. "Wasn't it _breathtaking?_"

"How many times during the course of our _one an a half year_ relationship have I told you that _I don't go by that stupid nickname?_" Zelda asked in annoyance, wiggling out of his embrace.

"Aw come on Zel…I mean…Zelda." He groaned, reaching for her again.

"No. That would be like if I started calling you Alexander or if I started calling your brother Lincoln."

"Hey! Don't bring me into this. I never call you Zellie." Link pointed a meaningful finger at Zelda. But his lips were pulled into a smile.

"I know Link." She said, sitting on the work bench. She patted the top of his head playfully.

"Alright Zelda I get your point." Alex sighed heavily. He fell back into the vacant beanbag chair. "Now what does everybody else think of the track? We all know Zelda thinks that Link's guitar playing was just breathtaking."

"Knock it off Alex." Zelda picked up the empty bottle that was beside her and threw it in his direction. It bounced off of his head.

"Hey!" He shouted at her, rubbing his head.

"Guys." Peter had been silent until then. His tone suggested that he had something incredibly serious to say.

"What is it Peter?" Zelda asked, concern creeping into her voice.

"I haven't been able to speak for the past minute or so because I…I couldn't breathe." Peter began to laugh so hard that his next words were hard to understand. "My mad drumming skills just left me so breathless."

"Why do I even hang out with you guys?" Zelda hopped off the work bench, and pushed Peter backwards out of his beanbag when she passed by him on her way outside through the open garage door.

Alex and Peter were roaring in the garage. Peter remained on the floor of the garage and Alex nearly fell out of his beanbag as they laughed. Link got up out of his and walked outside, hitting the garage door button on his way into the driveway.

"Zelda-"

"Link I like joking around and having a good time as much as you guys do. But…hearing that track…" Zelda turned around in the driveway to look at him. "I just can't believe that they didn't hear what I did or feel how I did."

"How did you feel?" Link asked, taking a seat at the end of the driveway.

"We're really going to make it. We've been playing in my garage for two years and all of our hard work and dedication is finally paying off." Zelda sat beside him.

"I know what you mean. It's hard to believe that we've gotten to this point after all of the crap we've had to go through and deal with." Link chuckled under his breath. "Remember how many amateur nights we did at Peter's dad's joint?"

"Oh my god…don't even bring those nights up." Zelda giggled exasperatedly and covered her face with both hands.

"I remember the night my amp blew. God _that_ was a fun night." Link rolled his eyes.

"Or the time I came down with strep throat? I'm sorry…I love your brother and everything but he cannot sing."

"Hey you don't have to apologize. Even if he could sing, his voice wouldn't be anything compared to yours." Link turned to look at Zelda.

"Oh don't start with that…"

"I'm serious." Link gently pried Zelda's hands away from her face. "When I heard you sing for the first time…god…look, look."

Link motioned to his arms. There were goosebumps forming along his skin.

"You're always so quick to pin our success on me. But you don't give yourself any of the credit that you deserve. You were born to play guitar. The way your fingers move and the music that you make with them…" Zelda shook her head.

"Are you ready to go back inside and try to have a serious conversation with those two idiots?" Link pointed his thumb in the direction of the garage.

"I don't know." Zelda let out a tired laugh.

"I promise that if they can't pull themselves together to discuss things seriously, you and I can get into the Jeep and go somewhere else to talk. Just me and you." Link wrapped an arm around Zelda's shoulders.

"The diner?" Zelda asked in a small voice, looking up at Link with big eyes.

"Yeah the diner." He laughed before he kissed the top of her head. "Where the food is greasy and the napkins are plentiful."

"Alright…let's go." Zelda said unenthusiastically.

"That-a-girl." Link offered is hand and helped Zelda to her feet.

"Your brother better make this whole thing up to me by taking me out for an expensive dinner."

"You and I both know that you'd end up at the diner."

"Link you know me all too well."

"I would hope so. We've been best friends since the fifth grade."

&

Link had first gone to The Web after seeing fliers everywhere in town advertising their 'Little Miss Charlotte'. There was no picture, but the description of her vocals and the comments made by patrons that had seen her perform was enough to convince Link that Zelda was the woman singing at The Web.

The first night he had gone, he had taken precautions. He had worn a thick, hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up and over his head. He had also purchased a pair of cheap sunglasses to wear over his eyes and to help obscure his face. He looked like the Unabomber.

Link chose to sit at a table in the back the first night he went. He tried to blend in as best as he could. Nobody but one of the people who worked at the bar approached him.

When the bartender, who introduced himself as Henry, took the stage to announce Charlotte, Link had immediately begun to look around for her. He felt anxious to see if his search had finally come to an end. He had drummed his fingers on the tabletop nervously.

Little Miss Charlotte finally took the stage. Link sighed tiredly. He had made the mistake of going into bars and hotels to listen to a singer he knew had to be Zelda, only to find out that it wasn't.

Link placed the money for the beer he hadn't drank on the table and got up to leave. But he paused at the door when he heard the familiar voice begin to sing. It sent shivers racing down his spine.

He turned, his eyes wide, and watched as Charlotte's fingers moved over the strings of her acoustic guitar. Her eyes were closed as she sang. Nobody in the bar appeared to even breathe as she sang.

Link couldn't believe his eyes. He quietly returned to the tables and pulled up a chair to one of the ones in front of the stage. The people at the table didn't pay him any attention. They were too busy being captivated by Charlotte.

Link closed his eyes to see Zelda in his mind: waist length, white blonde hair.

He opened his eyes and saw that Charlotte had dark hair. It was half pulled up underneath a straw boater, but the rest of it sprouted out from beneath it and fell two or three inches above her waist.

Link closed his eyes once more: Zelda had creamy skin.

He opened his eyes. Charlotte, although she wasn't sweating, looked as though she always were. Her skin was pale in a sickly way. There were prominent dark circles beneath both of her eyes.

Link remembered Zelda's eyes. They had always been a shocking blue. Most people that met her thought that they were colored lenses because her irises were so unbelievable.

But Charlotte had reddish brown eyes. There was something about them that was odd though. Link squinted up at her and got the impression that the reddish brown color was muddy over something.

Link's eyes ran over Charlotte's body. She wore a short, black dress with sleeves that ended at her elbows. Link was concerned that the dress was going to slip right off of her. Her sleeves were baggy and fell away from her thin arms. The neckline seemed to slip further and further down whenever Charlotte made any kind of movement. Link could see her collar bone and the first of her ribs poking out through her skin.

Zelda had always been slender. But she had also had curves to her.

But as Link heard the voice that came out of Charlotte, he didn't have to try to remember Zelda singing. It was her singing right in front of him in another woman's body.

What he wanted to do was jump up on that stage and yank Zelda up off that stool. He wanted to smack some sense into her and then take her to a hospital. But he couldn't. He sat in his chair and listened to her entire set.

The next night, Link had sat in the back with his hoodie and sunglasses. When the other guy from the bar came over to his table he struck up a conversation.

"She has…some voice." He had murmured, his eyes on the new figure of his old friend on stage.

"Oh I'm sorry dude…she's taken." The guy had said with a smile, patting his shoulder. "What can I-"

"No I really meant it." Link insisted. He tore his eyes from Zelda. "My name is Lincoln by the way."

"Tom." They shook hands.

"Is it Thomas?" Link asked with a knowing smile.

"Unfortunately."

"I feel your pain…I usually go by Link." His eyes drifted up to the stage once again. "Where did she come from?"

"I couldn't really tell you. She just dropped in one day with an offer for Henry that he couldn't refuse." Tom turned his head to look back at the bar. "Henry is the head bartender."

"What kind of offer?"

"She promised that she could bring in customers to this shithole by singing here every night. She even offered to help clean and fix the place up. All she wanted in return was a few bucks every here and there and a place to stay."

"She lives above the bar?"

"Mhmm. Now what can I get for you Link?"

&

Link hadn't intended on being seen during Zelda's show. He hadn't meant to interrupt her. But he had meant for her to see him that night.

After a week of coming to The Web secretly, he finally decided to reveal himself to Zelda. He planned on talking to her after her set.

But she had seen him. He hadn't taken her eyes from hers, even when she dropped her water bottle to the ground and glared in his direction.

After a moment or two, she grabbed the microphone.

"Don't you just hate when the ghost of fucking Christmas past comes back around to bite you in the ass?" Zelda asked loud and clear into the microphone, without taking her eyes off of Link.

The audience agreed enthusiastically.


	3. Grey Goose

**Chapter Two - Grey Goose**

Zelda played only two more songs that night. She didn't look in Link's direction again. After her short set she got up off the stool and marched right past his table and up to the bar. Simultaneously she held out Bruise for Tom to take and pulled a five dollar bill out of her bra and shoved it towards Henry.

"Give me a shot of that Grey Goose. And don't tell me that you don't have any because I know you fucking do." Zelda murmured venomously.

"Alright. Keep it to your fucking self eh?" Henry raised an eyebrow as he maneuvered his hands beneath the bar in a quick fashion and produced a shot glass filled with clear liquid.

Zelda took it and raised it to her lips. She closed her eyes and titled her head back as she took the shot quickly. She coughed once as she set the shot glass back down on the bar. She desperately wanted another but she only had that one five with her.

"Nuh uh girlie. I see that look in your eyes." Henry took the shot glass from the bar. "I let you drink for free the other night."

"No…I know." She answered quietly. "I wasn't going to ask."

"Where's that great catch of yours? I ain't never seen him buy you a drink before." Tom mused aloud as he passed by her to help another customer.

"I don't fucking care where he is. He'll show up later on tonight at some point." Zelda laid her face down into her folded arms on the bar.

"Well there are a lot of fellas here that would buy you a drink…if you'd maybe grow a personality and take that stupid hat off your head." Henry teased.

"Maybe you should start wearing one to cover up that bald head of yours." Zelda suggested, her voice muffled through her arms.

"Ha-ha. You are just _hilarious._ Why don't you get up on that stage and do some stand up comedy for us instead?" Henry patted her head a little harder than necessary. "Like I haven't heard a bald joke before."

Zelda knew that it wasn't a coincidence that Link showed up at The Web. She knew he had somehow found her and had come to talk to her. She had decided to get a drink or two in her before he approached her. She hadn't decided how she was going to react yet.

Had it been her mom or Alex or Peter…she would have told them to fuck off and asked Tom and Henry to kick them out. But it was Link. And even though she had severed her ties and connections to everyone back in Pamelia, Link had been her best friend for five years.

Zelda didn't have to lift her head up to know that it was Link that was claiming the stool next to her. She didn't stiffen but she didn't move either. She just sat there and waited for him to break the silence.

"Here," she heard him say, "get her another shot of whatever she was having."

"Ah. And for you good sir?" Henry asked amusedly.

"Just that shot for the lady."

"Hey Charlotte…you want to pick that pretty little head up of yours and thank the handsome gentleman for his generosity?" Henry chuckled as he clanked the shot glass loudly next to her elbow.

Zelda sighed and finally lifted her head. She didn't turn to look at Link. Instead, she tended to the shot that he had bought her. She took it just the same as the first.

"I never figured you'd be the drinking kind." Link said after she had set the shot glass back down on the bar. "You never seemed like you were into that."

"It's been five years since we saw each other last. A lot has changed." Zelda answered simply, still refusing to turn and look at him.

"Do you think that we could talk?" Link asked after a beat or two of silence. "We could go for a walk?"

Zelda finally turned her body towards him. She studied him with a blank face. There were many things about him that were different. For starters, his arms were big and muscular, and his neck was thicker. He had cut off his shaggy, dark blonde locks. His head looked as fuzzy as a peach. His skin was also a shade darker.

But then again, he still had those blue-gray eyes. Those eyes had been the very reason that she had been able to recognize him. There was something about the color of his eyes that made his pupils look lighter. A few people had thought he was blind when they had met him.

"Yeah. Yeah we can talk." She nodded her head.

Without another word, Link and Zelda both got up and headed towards the exit. Zelda could see, after they had stood, that Link had gotten taller since she had last seen him.

When they were outside, Zelda turned around to face Link.

"Hello Lincoln." She said tiredly.

"Lincoln?" Link furrowed his brow. "Since when do you call me that?"

"I don't know. Since when do we speak at all?"

"I see your point. But could you please call me Link? For my sake?" He asked with a crooked smile pulling on his lips.

"I guess so…Link." She answered with a shrug of her slim shoulders.

Link looked her over. He couldn't help but think of the past.

"It's good to see you Zelda. I've missed you." Link said with intense emotions in his tone. He bent down slightly and slowly put his arms around Zelda's small body.

"Yeah…yeah it's good to see you too Link." She said nonchalantly, but she returned his embrace. But she also broke it off quickly. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to see how you were doing-"

"Cut the crap Link." Zelda rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "You didn't just happen to walk into The Web and happen to recognize me. You sought me out. Now what do you want?"

Link stared down at Zelda with an intense gaze.

"What happened Zelda? Why are you here? What are you doing?"

"Sorry that you wasted your time coming here. I don't want to talk about those things." She made a move to get past him when he stepped in front of her, his hands raised.

"Alright. I understand that." He lowered his hands slowly. "But why the anger towards me Zelda? We used to be best friends. What did I ever do to make you hate me?"

"Hate you?" Zelda snorted. "You guys all hate me."

"What are you talking about?" Link asked confusedly.

"You, your brother, and Peter. You guys all hate me for not signing don't you?" Zelda asked incredulously.

"Well…I know that Alex was hurt and angry after you broke up with him. Yeah, I think he's probably mad at you for not signing. Peter too."

"See-"

"_I'm_ not Zelda." Link said meaningfully, pointing to himself. "I never was."

"Oh really?" Zelda asked, crossing her arms over her chest and looking up at him in disbelief. "You weren't mad at me?"

"No. Why is that so hard to believe?" Link asked, his brow furrowing once more.

"Gee I don't know…I didn't sign the fucking record deal that was going to put our band on the map? I-"

"Goddamnit Zelda. It's been so long that you've forgotten about how things used to be between us. We were best friends! Our friendship…_you,_ mattered more to me than a record deal." Link didn't raise his voice, but his tone was hard.

"Then why now all of a sudden are you coming after me? If our friendship mattered to you so much…why are you just now showing your face?"

"Because I've been-!" Link stopped himself and also took that moment to calm down. "Because I didn't know where you'd gone. I only knew you were here because I was moving here and came across the fliers advertising your singing at The Web."

"You're moving here? Why?"

"I…I have a friend that lives here. I'm staying with him 'til I can find a place to live."

"Well that's great. I hope you have a wonderful time here in this lovely town." Zelda said sarcastically, marching past him.

She went back into the bar and slammed the door shut behind her loudly.

&

The next day, Zelda rolled out of bed after noon. She left Adrian, snoring, in bed and went into the bathroom.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her lip was split and partly swollen. She ran her tongue over it and found it to be tender still. She shrugged at her reflection and turned to start her shower.

After she had showered, towel dried her hair, and brushed her teeth hastily, she returned to the bedroom. She went through the different piles of clothes and was pulling on a pair of dark jeans when Adrian stopped snoring.

"…hey," Adrian cleared his throat loudly, "hey. Hey."

"Yeah Adrian I'm listening." She replied, annoyed.

"Hey baby I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean-"

"Yeah I know you didn't mean it. It's cool. I forgive you. Yada yada yada." She mumbled as she picked up a flannel shirt. She buttoned it up until her bra wasn't visible. "I'll see you later."

"See you later baby." Adrian said, already beginning to drift back into sleep again. "Oh. Baby? Bring me up something to eat when you get a chance."

"Yeah like that's gonna happen." Zelda said under her breath, stepping into her hiking boots.

Zelda returned to the bathroom to put in her lenses. Once they were in, she went downstairs. She always had a little something to eat at the bar with Henry and/or Tom.

When she reached the bar, she felt like throwing up when she saw both Henry and Tom seated at a table with none other than Link. They appeared to be having a good time too.

"What the hell is this?" Zelda asked, stomping across the room to where they were.

"Good afternoon eight legs." Henry said, reaching out to pinch one of Zelda's cheeks. She slapped his hand away from her face. "What's gotten your panties in a twist? Did Adrian wake up long enough for a quickie or something?"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Zelda asked, looking directly at Link.

"I applied for a job here." He answered, sitting back in his chair.

"No. Nuh-uh." Zelda said with a tired laugh. "Henry if you hire him…I'm out of here. That's a fucking promise."

"Whoa. Calm down Charlotte-"

Zelda slammed a hand flat down on the tabletop. She got up in Henry's face, glaring at him.

"I'm not in the mood today to have you call me that name."

"Alright…Zelda. Have a seat and chill out for a fucking second." Henry said in disbelief, motioning to the extra chair.

"Look, with all of the business you're bringing in…we need more help around here. Henry and I have been talking about it for awhile. Link happened to come in today to talk to you and mentioned that he was on the hunt for a job and a place to live." Tom explained slowly.

"Why do you have to hire _him?_" Zelda asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"Link said that you guys were friends for a long time. We thought you'd be glad to have him working here." Henry said, raising an eyebrow.

"The keyword is _were._ As in not anymore." Zelda retorted coldly, staring across the table at Link.

"Come on Zelda." He said gently.

"Can't we come to some sort of agreement? Tom and I really like him." Henry pushed his lower lip out. "Tom and I don't have a lot of friends. We're losers. But Link seems to like us okay."

Zelda couldn't help the twitching at the corners of her mouth. She looked away from Henry's funny face and covered her mouth with one hand.

"You are right about you and Tom being losers. You more so than Tom."

"I told you she liked me better." Tom pointed at Henry with a laugh.

"So what do you say Zelda? Do we need to negotiate or are you going to be okay with this?" Henry asked seriously.

Zelda's eyes flickered over to Link. She did feel slightly guilty for the way she had left things the night before. But she just didn't want to be reminded of the past.

"Alright." She sighed after a minute. "I'm okay with him working here."

"That's another thing. We were thinking that maybe…he could live in the room across from yours until he found a place to live."


	4. The Good Times

**Chapter Three - The Good Times**

Author's Note: The song used in this chapter is called "Somebody For Someone" by The Corrs.

&

Link shoved all of his clothes into the drawers of the small dresser in his room. It was the only other piece of furniture in the room besides the two mattresses that were piled on top of each other for his bed. He didn't mind though.

He set up both of his guitars in one of the corners along with his amp. Then he flopped down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling.

Henry expected him downstairs in a half hour to go over the rules and regulations, as well as walking him through what he would be expected to do while on the job. Tom and Zelda had gone out to get groceries for the fridge and also planned on stopping by the hardware store to pick up some things for the ongoing restoration of The Web.

Suddenly, Link's cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He fished it out without sitting up and looked at the screen. It was Zelda's mom.

He flipped open the phone.

"Hey Grace. How are you?" He asked, clearing his throat.

"Hello Link. I'm doing better since I got your phone call last week." There was a pause on the other end of the line. "How is she?"

Link sighed quietly. He didn't want to worry Grace. But he also didn't want to lie to her.

"She's a lot different, but then again, it's been five years right?" Link laughed dryly.

"You know what I mean Link." Grace said gently.

"She wasn't very happy to see me. But she was…somewhat civil." Link slowly sat up and rubbed a hand over his face. "I didn't bring anything up. We have to spend a little more time with each other before she'll be comfortable enough to talk about things."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a minute.

"I suppose I understand that." She finally said with a sigh.

"Grace…everything is going to be okay. I promise." He assured her genuinely. "You didn't send in some private investigator that doesn't know her. You sent me. You know that I care about Zelda."

"I know Link."

"Well I have to go. I got a job at the bar that Zelda's working at. But don't worry, I'll call you as soon as I can to let you know what's going on."

"Alright. Take care Link…and thank you."

Before Link could respond, Grace had hung up the phone. Link sighed and replaced his phone to his pocket.

&

_Six Months Ago…_

Link stopped just as the light turned red. He hadn't been paying very close attention to the road. He jerked backward in his seat just as the person behind him honked their horn angrily at him. He ignored them.

He had been nervously waiting for this day since he had gotten the phone call from Zelda's mom. She had asked him to come by the house on Thursday at three to discuss Zelda. Link had worried that whole week.

He hadn't heard from Zelda ever since she went to go live with her aunt and uncle in Syracuse four and a half years ago. Alex and Peter hadn't cared. But Link had. Nobody knew but he had hitchhiked to Syracuse a month after Zelda had moved. But when he had gotten there, Zelda's aunt had turned him away. She told him that Zelda had specifically said that if anyone from Pamelia ever came to see her, she didn't want to see them…no matter who it was.

The light turned green. Link drove a little too fast, almost bouncing up and down in his seat. He hoped that nothing bad had happened to Zelda. He hoped that whatever Zelda's mom had to say, it was good news.

Link turned down the familiar street and found himself in front of the house in the blink of an eye. He put the car in park and sat there for a moment. After taking a deep breath, he opened his car door and got out.

His eyes went straight to the garage, which was open. It was no longer vacant, covered in beanbag chairs. It was cluttered and piled high with boxes and different pieces of furniture.

Link went up to the front door after he had stared at the garage for a good five minutes. When he reached the door, he hesitated before ringing the doorbell.

It startled Link when the door opened almost the same second that he rang the doorbell.

"Hi Mrs. Hark-…I mean…hi Ms. Noble." Link said nervously.

"Hello Link. Please call me Grace." She answered with a smile.

Link looked at Grace in the doorway. She had changed. She had cut off her long, strawberry blonde hair. It curled in just beneath her chin. Her face, which had been just as flawless as her daughter's, had aged noticeably.

"Please come in." She said after a moment, stepping aside.

"Thank you." He said quietly, walking past her and into the house. He looked around. The house hadn't changed at all. "The house looks good."

"Thank you." She said, shutting the door. Grace turned and went to where Link stood awkwardly. She smiled and rubbed both his arms at first, but then wrapped her arms around him in a tight tug. "I'm so glad you're here."

Link was startled. But he remembered how many days and nights he had spent at Zelda's house and around her family. He slowly returned Grace's hug.

After a moment, she pulled away from him and Link saw a tear rolling down her cheek. But just as quickly as he saw it, Grace was wiping it away with a weak smile on her face.

"I just made some coffee. Do you want any?" She asked, starting towards the kitchen.

"Um…no thanks."

"I'm going to go get a cup for myself. Make yourself at home." Grace motioned to the living room as she passed through it on her way to the kitchen.

Link went into the living room and carefully sat down on one of the two couches. He looked to his side and saw the pictures on the little table next to the couch. He leaned in to look at them.

One was a family picture. In it, Zelda's dad, Eric, was standing with his arm around Grace. Zelda stood in between them in front of them. All three of them were smiling and wearing nice clothes. In another picture, Zelda and Alex stood side by side holding hands.

The third picture was of the band. The band name, Legend Technical, was scrawled out in an old time text along the picture frame. Link found himself smiling as he remembered the theme of the picture.

When Link and Zelda had first met in fifth grade, she had explained to him that her dad had liked the Legend of Zelda games so much that he had named her after the character Zelda. That was the day that Zelda gave Link his nickname. He had been trying to find one his whole life because of his hatred towards his name.

When the band was formed their freshman year, they had used that story as an inspiration for their band name. A few months later, they took a picture with the theme The Legend of Zelda.

Peter was dressed like Ganondorf and was holding his drumsticks threateningly over Alex's head, who was dressed like Sheik. He held his bass as if he were going to hit Peter in the stomach with it.

Meanwhile, Link and Zelda were dressed as Link and Zelda. Link held his guitar up to his lips as if it were an ocarina. Although Zelda was supposed to look like she was singing into the microphone, she ended up laughing at Link's pose.

"I keep those to remind myself of the good times." Grace said suddenly, coming into the living room with her coffee.

Link didn't know how to respond and so he simply nodded, taking his eyes away from the pictures.

"Link…I saw your new band play." Grace said after a time.

"You saw us? Where?" Link asked, sitting forward.

"At Peter's father's restaurant."

"Oh. Yeah we play there a lot." Link murmured, looking down at the floor. "It's not the same without Zelda."

"Your new singer has a lovely voice." Grace replied.

"She does. But it's…nothing like Zelda's." Link's eyes flickered up to Grace. "I've never heard anyone sing like she does."

"Neither have I." Grace took a sip of her coffee. "How is your brother? And Peter? They both looked so grown up. So do you."

"Alex is good. He's seeing someone on and off…and he works with Peter at John's." Link answered, wringing his hands.

"I hope you don't mind my saying so…but I heard that the three of you are trying to raise money to go out to California."

"Yeah. We've been trying to raise that money for awhile. But it's hard to keep a lot of that money. We have an apartment to pay for and groceries to buy…instruments and equipment to take care of."

Grace set her mug down on the coffee table. She leaned forward.

"I have a proposition for you."

"A proposition?" Link asked confusedly, raising an eyebrow.

"After Zelda moved in with my sister and her husband…she stayed there for about a year. And then she moved without saying a word about where she was going or what she planned on doing.

For some time now…I've been considering hiring someone to find her. But I've looked into it and…I just wouldn't feel right asking a stranger to look for Zelda."

Grace got up from the other couch and sat down next to Link.

"Would you be willing to find her? Would you be willing to find her and bring her home to me?" She asked, putting her hand on Link's knee.

"Uh…um-"

"I'll pay you thirty dollars a day for every day you're looking for her. And then, after you find her, I'll pay you forty dollars a day until you can convince her to come home with you."

Link thought about it. He looked into Grace's eyes. She was totally and completely serious. He could tell that she was desperate to find her daughter. Link wouldn't mind getting in touch with Zelda again. He missed their friendship everyday.

"Grace…I wouldn't feel right accepting money from you." He said after awhile.

"And I wouldn't feel right asking you to do this without paying you."

"…okay Grace." Link took her hand into his. "I'll find her. But I'm going to need some help."

"I know. And I'll help you in anyway that I can." Grace leaned in and gave Link a kiss on the cheek before standing up. "Follow me."

&

Later on that night, Link left the bar and went upstairs to get Zelda. He had received a lot of good tips that night, especially from the women customers. Henry and Tom had called him their chick magnet.

The bathroom door was shut. Link remembered that he had gone to Zelda's house many times and she had been laying on the bathroom floor. He went up to the door and knocked.

"Zelda?" He waited for a response. When there wasn't one he knocked again. "Zelda? It's almost time for you to go on."

"She's always in that fucking bathroom." A gruff, muffled voice said.

Link turned to see a man standing in the doorway of Zelda's bedroom. He had black hair that was pulled back and an unshaven face. He wore only a pair of ratty sweatpants. He had a cigarette in his mouth.

"You must be Adrian." Link said simply, turning back to the bathroom door.

"Yeah." Adrian took the cigarette from his mouth and exhaled before replacing it. "You're that guy."

"Yeah that's me." Link muttered. "Zelda? Hey Zelda?"

"You're never gonna get her attention that way." Adrian said with a throaty chuckle. He pushed past Link and banged his fist hard on the door. "Charlotte! I know you aren't deaf bitch! Charlotte!"

"I don't really think that's necessary-"

"You must be deaf. I told you not to call me by that fucking stupid name!" Zelda suddenly shouted.

"I don't really give a shit. Now get the fuck out of there before I break down this door!" Adrian continued to pound on the door.

"Hey," Link grabbed Adrian's shoulder firmly, "don't you talk to her that way."

"What's the problem?" Adrian moved a step closer to Link and looked up at him menacingly. "I can talk to that bitch any way that I want to."

Before Link could respond, the bathroom door opened.

"Leave him alone Link." Zelda pushed past both of them and bounded down the stairs.

Link gave Adrian one last look before following her.

Henry was already up on the stage introducing Zelda. She took Bruise from Tom and headed up that way.

"Hey, what's the story with Adrian?" Link asked Tom, taking a tray of drinks from him.

"You mean the _winner_ that Ch-Zelda picked?" Tom rolled his eyes. "He comes and goes. Henry and I don't like him."

"Neither do I." Link mumbled as he headed to one of the tables with the tray.

"Hey there." One of the girls at the table said, batting her eyelashes at Link.

"Hey. Do you ladies need anything else right now?" He asked, looking around at the other three girls sitting with her.

"I do." One of the other girls said. "I need your number. Right now."

The other three girls giggled.

Link smiled at her but rolled his eyes internally. He knew he had to be nice.

"That was really clever of you."

"Did anyone ever tell you that you look like David Beckham?" The first girl that had spoken to him asked.

"No. Can't say that anyone has." He answered.

"You have the same hairstyle." Another one of the girls said.

"Well thanks very much ladies. If you need anything else, I'll be around." He gave them one last smile before heading back to the bar with the tray.

Meanwhile, Zelda had taken her place on the stool.

"This one's called 'Somebody For Someone' and it-"

"Ain't mine!" The audience all responded together, laughing afterward.

"Aren't you guys cute?" Zelda mumbled sarcastically.

Link went to another table absentmindedly, watching Zelda onstage. He remembered the song well. They used to play it on amateur nights all the time.

"There's a deep girl in the corner shop, selling sugar for money in the dead of the night, and her soul's in the sugar, and her heart's in the mud, and she crying with a stranger for someone to love, and she sings:

Look at me, see me, look at me, save me, free me, find me, 'cause if there's somebody for someone, yeah, look at me, somebody for someone.

There's a deep boy at the corner shop, watching sugar sell for money to the dead at night, and he sees her an angel," Zelda looked up from her guitar and saw Link watching her play from the bar, "in the cruelest of worlds, hiding in the darkness, screaming out for love, and he sings."

She looked back down at Bruise. "Look at me, see me, look at me, save me, free me, find me, 'cause if there's somebody for someone, yeah, come and look at me, somebody for someone.

Somebody's gonna make it right, somebody's gonna make it right, somebody's gonna make it right, somebody's gonna make it right, somebody's gonna make it right, somebody's gonna make it right, somebody's gonna make it right, somebody's gonna make it right.

Somebody's gonna make it right, somebody's gonna make it right, look at me, see me, somebody's gonna make it right, somebody's gonna make it right, look for me, save me, somebody's gonna make it right, somebody's gonna make it right, free me, find me, somebody's gonna make it right, somebody's gonna make it right, 'cause if there's somebody for someone, yeah, look at me yeah.

Somebody for someone, hey yeah, I wanna be, somebody for someone, I know there's gotta be, somebody for someone, you've gotta be, somebody for someone, hey yeah hey, somebody for someone."

Everybody broke into applause as usual. Link clapped along with Tom behind the bar. He looked over at Henry, who was talking to a man dressed in a really nice suit. He wondered who it was.

&

Later, after the bar was closed, Zelda was sitting at the bar nursing a beer when Henry came up and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey Ch-Zelda…there's somebody here that I think you should talk to." Henry pointed at a well dressed man sitting alone at a table.

"Who is it?" She asked tiredly, looking back at Henry.

"Why don't you go over there and find out?"

"Yeah okay." Zelda grabbed her beer and hopped off of the stool. She made her way over to the table. "You wanted to see me?"

"Richard Tennyson." The guy got up and extended his hand to Zelda.

"Zelda Harkanian." She shook his hand quickly.

"Have a seat." He said with a smile, motioning to the chair across from him.

"Do I know you or something?" Zelda asked confusedly as she sat down in the chair. She took a long drink of her beer.

"Well…not personally." He messed with his lapels before reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a business card and held it out for Zelda. "I own Metropolis Records."

"Not interested." Zelda replied, ignoring the card he extended to her.

"Now wait a second." Richard placed the business card in front of her. "I don't think you understand. I could make you a huge star. You've got a lot of talent…sure you're rough around the edges but that can be fixed. And-"

"Rough around the edges?" Zelda raised an eyebrow.

"Be realistic Zelda. Whose going to buy a CD with you on the cover looking the way you do? Nobody…"

While Richard continued to talk, Zelda reached out for his water. Before he could blink, she threw the contents of his glass into his face.

"Why you-!" Richard stood up so fast that he overturned his chair.

His hands flew out and Zelda didn't even flinch. But suddenly there was a large set of hands grabbing Richard by the lapels. Zelda looked up to see that the hands belonged to Link.

"It's time for you to go." He growled, jerking the guy towards the exit. When they got close to the door, he threw him forward into it.

"You're all a bunch of fucking nuts!" Richard exclaimed angrily, turning to face the bar. Henry was standing next to Link while Tom was behind the bar brandishing a baseball bat.

"Don't show your fucking face around here again." Henry said seriously, arching his eyebrows.

"You'll be hearing from my lawyer." Richard threatened, pointing a finger at Link.

"Good. I'd _love_ it if you came around here again." Link crossed his arms over his broad chest with a smirk pulling at his lips.

Zelda didn't even wait for Richard to leave before she swiped her arm across the table, sending her beer bottle flying across the room. It smashed against the floor as she got up from her chair and stomped towards the doorway and nearly pulled the beads out of the frame when she passed through them.

Link and Henry had turned around to see her do it. When they turned back around, Richard was gone.


	5. In A Kiss

**Chapter Four - In A Kiss**

Author's Note: The song used in this chapter is called "Remembering Sunday" by All Time Low.

&

It was five in the morning when Link woke up. He looked at his phone and groaned, dropping it to the floor and turning over. He pulled the blankets up over his head and shut his eyes. He tried for another ten minutes to fall back asleep, and when he couldn't, he threw back the covers with a growl and got up.

He stepped into the jeans he had worn for work and pulled them up. He was pulling a shirt on over his head when he opened the door to his room.

Link was surprised when he saw light coming from under Zelda's door.

He frowned. After Zelda had stomped upstairs, he had followed her but she hadn't answered him when he tried to talk to her and she refused to open the bathroom door.

Link went to the door and knocked.

"Zelda?" He murmured.

There was only silence. Link sighed and turned to go into the bathroom when Zelda answered him.

"Yeah?"

"Are you awake?" Link covered his face with a hand and laughed dryly when he heard Zelda laughing quietly. "Sorry that was stupid."

"Can't you sleep?" She asked after a beat.

"Not anymore. What about you?"

"I have bouts of insomnia." She answered simply.

"I'm pretty sure everyone else in the human race does too." Link answered as-a-matter-of-factly, pressing a hand to the door to lean against it. Just as he did, the door opened beneath it and he stepped back.

"You can come in." Zelda said slowly, as if he were mentally handicapped.

"Where's Adrian?" Link asked, looking past her and into the room.

"Look if you don't want to-"

"That's not what I said." Link replied. He walked past her and sat down on the edge of her bed, which was the same as his.

Zelda closed the door and kicked different articles of clothing out of the way as she crossed the room to the bed. She bounced onto it face first and laid there, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

"You sure keep things clean." Link said sarcastically, leaning back against the wall.

"When was I ever neat?" Zelda's voice was muffled against the mattress.

"True." Link cleared his throat. "Are you alright…from earlier I mean?"

Zelda lifted herself up and crawled towards the wall. She sat with her back against it and held the pillow in her lap.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" She asked, looking down at the mattress.

"You seemed pretty upset."

"I was just mad at Henry." Zelda sighed and closed her eyes.

"At Henry? Why?" Link asked, furrowing his brow. "It was that Richard guy that needed to get knocked the fuck out."

"I specifically told Henry _and_ Tom that if anyone from a label ever came by and tried to talk to me to send them away. I don't want to sign with anyone." Zelda answered, opening her eyes to look at Link.

"I'm sure he was just looking out for you. He seems to care about you…Tom too. You guys have the weirdest relationships with each other but still…"

Zelda smiled slightly.

"That's one of the reasons I like singing in bars. All of the bartenders I've worked with have been like that. It's nice to get along with your boss."

"What's another reason you like singing in bars?"

Zelda stopped smiling and looked away from Link.

"So…since when are you buff?"

Link wanted her to answer the question but he couldn't help but laugh.

"For awhile now actually." When Zelda snapped her head back and looked at him with wide eyes he realized that she wanted a better answer than that. "Hmm…it's kind of…I don't know."

"What?" She asked, slightly annoyed.

"After you moved…my parents and Peter's parents had a talk and decided that they wanted us to give up the band for awhile and try different things. We all had to find another activity. Alex played soccer and I played football. Peter worked at his dad's place." Link shrugged his shoulders. "I just got into the habit of working out from playing I guess."

"Why'd you pick football?" Zelda asked, resting her chin on her knee.

"I knew my dad always wanted one or both of his sons to play since he did in high school. Alex was set on soccer and so I decided to go out for football."

"That's so like Alex." Zelda rolled her eyes. "He was always leaving you at home with your mom whenever your dad was gone on long business trips. I offered all the time to cancel our plans so that he could stay home with her but he was always selfish."

"There were a few times where you two came over." Link said, laying horizontally across the bed. He propped himself up on an elbow. "Remember when we rented The Blair Witch Project because none of us had seen it?"

"Yeah. That was by far the stupidest movie I've ever seen." Zelda said, and then she laughed quickly before covering her mouth.

"What?" Link asked, smiling crookedly at her.

"Alex was freaked. He wouldn't admit it because he was embarrassed but…later on that night he called me like twenty times because he was afraid to go to sleep."

"The Daugherty family is not well known for being courageous. Nobody in my family, myself included, can tolerate scary movies."

Then there was silence. Zelda looked at the pillow in her lap and pressed her palms into it. She watched as the imprints slowly rose back up after she lifted her hands. Link watched her do it for many minutes.

"When did you dye your hair?" Link asked, breaking the silence.

"I've been dying it for years." Zelda said absentmindedly, still playing with her pillow. "My aunt was so fucking pissed the first time I did it. I thought she was going to cut my throat."

"I kind of want to cut your throat." Link said jokingly.

"Why?" She glanced up at him through her bangs.

"Do you know how many girls try their whole lives to get their hair the color that yours was _naturally?_ You had the most beautiful hair I think I've ever seen." Link slowly sat up against the wall again. "Why'd you do it?"

Zelda ignored him.

"Why do you wear contacts? You never had problems with your eyes before."

"Why the sudden questions about my appearance?" Zelda said quickly. "Do you think I'm 'rough around the edges' too?"

"No. I just wondered why you made all the sudden changes."

"Like I said…it's been five years. You don't look the same as you did back then."

"You're right. But I have a legitimate reason as to why I've got a more muscular build. I got taller too…but you can't really control that."

"What about your hair? What happened to your long, messy hair?"

"It wasn't practical. Plus, if you didn't hear, I look like David Beckham with my new hairstyle." Link made a show of moving his hands across his fuzzy head.

"Physically you've changed but…" Zelda shook her head with a smile.

"Hey I don't want to ruin the mood but…I just wanted to say thank you." Link said after he had laughed at himself.

"For what?" Zelda asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I meant what I said yesterday. I've missed being your friend. And I'm glad that you're giving us a chance to be friends again." Link smiled warmly at her.

Zelda looked at Link. He looked happy. She had missed being friends with him too. She didn't mind patching up their friendship…as long as he didn't get into her business or ask her all kinds of questions that she didn't want to answer.

"Me too." She answered.

&

"What the fuck is this?" An amused voice asked, startling Zelda out of her sleep. Her eyes flew open. She realized that she had fallen asleep sitting against the wall, and Link was asleep with his head across her lower legs. She looked up to see Henry standing in her doorway, grinning from ear to ear.

"This is what sleep looks like." Zelda answered, yanking her legs out from underneath Link's head. He groaned in response as she jumped up out of bed.

"Sure whatever you say Zelda. I won't tell Adrian." Henry chuckled as he watched Zelda flutter around in the bathroom. "I was thinking maybe we could paint some more if you don't mind."

"Yeah yeah. I'll be downstairs in five." Zelda waved him away as she put in her contacts.

She studied her lip in the mirror. The split had faded and was hardly noticeable.

"So what's this I hear about painting?" Link asked gruffly, rubbing his head with one hand and his left eye with the other.

Zelda looked at him in the mirror. She watched him stand there and stare at her while he waited for an answer. He yawned and stretched his arms.

"You already work at the same bar as I do and sleep across the room from me…do you have to do everything else that I do too?" Zelda said, her tone thick with annoyance.

Link was startled and puzzled by her reaction.

"But-"

"Move." She commanded, pushing past him when he started to step aside.

She went into the bedroom and shut the door behind her to change out of her pajama pants and tank top. When she was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt, she emerged from her room and went down the stairs without bothering to see if Link was still standing in the bathroom doorway or not.

Downstairs, Tom and Henry were already at work painting one of the walls. They were going for a darker theme. The walls had once been beige. They were painting them black and planned on using a silvery color to create webs across the walls.

Zelda took her boater off the peg and swept her hair up underneath it. She then went to where Tom and Henry were painting and took one of the lone paintbrushes and started painting alongside them.

"So Zelda…how did you sleep last night?" Tom asked after a time, his words laced with laughter.

"You guys are so fucking stupid." Zelda murmured, purposefully painting over one of Henry's fingers. "We were talking and fell asleep. I was sitting against a wall for fuck's sake."

"Why so touchy Zelda?" Henry asked, flicking his paintbrush at her. Black drops of paint flew from the brush and scattered across Zelda's face and neck.

Zelda took her paintbrush and swept it over Henry's face before he could dodge it. She then turned back to the wall, wiping off her face with her free hand.

"Fuck!" Henry shouted, dropping his paintbrush onto the floor. He stomped away from Tom and Zelda, muttering curses under his breath.

"Uh oh. You're gonna be in trouble." Tom said quietly, smiling.

"Whatever. He deserved it." Zelda answered simply. She continued painting, ignoring the continued cursing and loud noises.

"My face is gonna be stained for a fucking week!" Henry yelled, returning to the room. "You're gonna fucking regret that Charlotte!"

"Uh oh. He called you Charlotte. You're in _really_ big trouble."

"Say 'uh oh' again and you'll have matching faces." Zelda threatened, glaring at him out of the corner of her eye.

Tom continued painting without another word.

&

Zelda looked through the piles of clothes around her room for something to wear. She huffed angrily as she ripped through her clothing, throwing different articles of it around the room.

After ten minutes of searching, she finally pulled a long sleeved, cream colored blouse. It was one of the only nice pieces of clothing she owned. She paired it with another one of the only nice pieces of clothing she had - a flowing, navy blue skirt. She stepped into her hiking boots before heading into the bathroom.

She grabbed handfuls of her dark hair and huffed again. She opened up drawers and slammed them shut until she found a hair tie. She pulled front pieces to the back of her head and tied them back. The rest of her hair tumbled down in waves.

Henry didn't protest to Zelda's choice of clothing any other night but Friday nights. He always required her to wear a nicer outfit on Friday nights. Why he picked Friday she didn't know but it was one of his only rules for her and so she complied.

When she was dressed and ready, she went downstairs and up to the bar. When she went to take Bruise from Tom, she noticed that he was biting his lips as though he were holding back a smile or laughter. She cocked her head at him while furrowing her brow, but took Bruise from him and turned to head up to the stage.

That was when she noticed that there were two stools up on the stage. One of them was occupied - by Link. She stopped dead in her tracks and stared at him. He was sitting with his acoustic guitar across his lap, looking out into the audience.

"I told you that you'd be sorry." Henry said from behind her.

"I refuse." Zelda responded icily, spinning around to face him.

"Oh no…no you don't." Henry said with a shake of his head. He took a step towards her. "If you don't play with him then I'll fire you and throw your ass out on the streets."

"You don't-"

"Try me girlie." Henry said, raising his eyebrows.

Zelda set her jaw and gave Henry the coldest look she could muster. After a moment, she turned and went quickly up to the stage. She threw herself down on the empty stool and held Bruise close to her.

"Does this bring back memories?" Link asked with a crooked smile.

"Shut up." Zelda snapped. She turned her head to look at him. "What are we playing?"

Link's smile melted slowly off his face. He swallowed and looked back down at his guitar.

"I don't know. Why don't you just take my lead?" He asked quietly.

"Sure. Why not?" Zelda retorted.

She looked over at Link and saw that the dressing-nicer-on-Fridays rule also applied to him. He wore a pair of frayed khakis and a long sleeved flannel shirt. It was unbuttoned to reveal a white wife beater beneath it.

"Alright skanks and scumbags…tonight's gonna be a little different. Joining our own Little Miss Charlotte is her partner in spinning songs, Link." Henry announced into one of the microphones.

Zelda hadn't even noticed him get on the stage. She leaned forward towards the microphone after Henry left.

"Hey…why doesn't he get a stupid stage name?" She asked in a clear voice.

"Because you're a bitch!" Henry called out to her from the bar.

"And you have a small penis and a dirty face." Zelda responded quickly, holding up a middle finger.

"Hey. This song's called 'Remembering Sunday' by All Time Low." Link said before Henry could say something back.

With that, he started strumming his guitar, and Zelda followed suit.

"He woke up from dreaming and put on his shoes, started making his way past two in the morning, he hasn't been sober for days.

Leaning now into the breeze, remembering Sunday, he falls to his knees, they had breakfast together, but two eggs don't last, like the feeling of what he needs.

Now this place seems familiar to him, she pulled on his hand with a devilish grin, she led him upstairs, she led him upstairs, left him dying to get in.

Forgive me, I'm trying to find, my calling, I'm calling at night, I don't mean to be a bother, but have you seen this girl?

She's been running through my dreams, and it's driving me crazy, it seems, I'm going to ask her to marry me.

Even though she doesn't believe in love, he's determined to call her bluff, who could deny these butterflies, they're filling his gut.

Waking the neighbors, unfamiliar faces, he pleads though he tries, but he's only denied, now he's dying to get inside.

Forgive me, I'm trying to find, my calling, I'm calling at night, I don't mean to be a bother, but have you seen this girl?

She's been running through my dreams, and it's driving me crazy, it seems, I'm going to ask her to marry me.

The neighbors said she moved away, funny how it rained all day, I didn't think much of it then, but it's starting to all make sense, oh, I can see now that all of these clouds, are following me in my desperate endeavor, to find my whoever, wherever she may be."

Zelda, who had merely been playing the whole time, finally began to sing.

"I'm not coming back, I've done something so terrible, I'm terrified to speak, but you'd expect that from me, I'm mixed up, I'll be blunt, now the rain is just, washing you out of my hair and out of my mind, keeping an eye on the world, from so many thousands of feet off the ground, I'm over you now, I'm at home in the clouds, and towering over your head."

And with that, she stopped singing, and let Link finish out the song.

"Well I guess I'll go home now, I guess I'll go home now, I guess I'll go home now, I guess I'll go home."

Zelda had forgotten that Link had a fairly good voice. He was still ten times more gifted at the guitar, but he had provided the back up vocals for the old band. His voice paired with Zelda's well for harmonies.

The audience seemed to agree.

&

Link sat at the bar an hour before closing, a beer in front of him. He looked into the golden brown liquid and thought about playing with Zelda. He hadn't been able to keep memories of the past out of his mind.

He had been confused by the way Zelda had treated him that morning after the good talk that they had had early that morning. He had been hurt by the way she had reacted when she had seen him up on stage. He hadn't been all that surprised though. He knew she probably thought about the past too.

They had played that song with Legend Technical a few times. He didn't know why he had chosen it. It had just come to his mind when Zelda has asked him what they were going to play.

"Hey."

Link turned to see Zelda standing there.

"Hey." He said before turning back around.

"Look," Zelda climbed up onto the stool beside him, "I'm sorry about this morning…and earlier."

Link looked over and saw that Zelda looked sincere. When he looked up at her, she caught his eyes and looked away quickly. He smiled.

"Apology accepted." He looked back at the bar. There weren't many people left. He looked back at Zelda. "Do you want to have a drink with me?"

"Um…yeah…okay. I could use a drink." Zelda said after a moment. She looked up to see Tom standing in front of her. "I'll have a Jack and Coke."

"You did good with your punishment. It's on the house tonight." Tom whispered as he leaned across the bar towards Zelda. He then went to retrieve her drink.

"So why did you react the way you did tonight?" Link asked.

"I think you know why." Zelda replied, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Yeah I guess I do." Link nodded and took a sip of his beer.

"You…you sounded good tonight." Zelda said slowly, turning her body slightly more towards Link. "Don't take this the wrong way…but you sounded a bit better than I remembered. Did you take voice lessons or something?"

"I used to sound that bad eh?" Link asked, cracking a smile.

"I said-"

"I know, I know. I'm just kidding." He turned towards her. "Yeah I did take voice lessons actually."

"How come?"

"Well, after we graduated high school, me, Alex, and Peter got back together and decided to try and be a band again. We looked for a new singer but we couldn't find one that…well…we just couldn't find one. So, since I had the best voice out of the three of us, I took voice lessons so that I could be our singer until we could find a replacement."

"Hmm. So you guys did get the band back together?" Zelda asked, taking her drink from Tom when he brought it over.

"Yeah. We called ourselves Failed Legacy." Link shook his head with a half smile as he swallowed another sip of beer.

"Did Alex come up with that name?" Zelda asked with a raised eyebrow.

"How'd you guess?" Link asked, the other side of his mouth turning up into a smile. He laughed along with Zelda.

"What ended up happening to Failed Legacy? Obviously it failed since you moved here." Zelda said after she had stopped laughing.

"Right." Link nodded, the wheels in his head turning as he tried to think of a story as to why the band broke up. In reality, Alex, Peter, and Margaret were all waiting for him to come back with the money. While he thought, he told another story first. "After a year and a half, give or take a month or two maybe, this girl saw us play one night."

"A girl huh?" Zelda asked with a mischievous look on her face.

"Yes. A girl. Margaret. She pulled me aside after the show, said she heard we were looking for someone to replace me as the singer, and asked to audition. She came over to the apartment the next day and sang for us."

"Was she good?"

"Yeah she was."

"Who would you say she sounds similar to?"

"Not you if that's what you mean." Link said, turning his head in Zelda's direction with an arched eyebrow.

"…no. I didn't mean it that way." Zelda swung herself forward and took a long drink of her Jack and Coke.

Link smiled and chuckled silently to himself. He looked over at Zelda while she sat there, staring at the bar and the different bottles of liquor on the shelves.

He noticed that she had taken her hair down. It cascaded down her back in dark waves. Her bangs fell into her face and covered most of her eyes.

His eyes moved lower. The color of her blouse extenuated the paleness of her skin. It was almost colorless. One of the sleeves of her blouse was falling, exposing her shoulder. His eyes moved over a dark freckle there.

"What are you looking at?" Zelda asked, her tone undecipherable. She hadn't taken her eyes from the liquor bottles.

Link's eyes slowly traveled back to her face.

"Nothing." He said softly. "You know…you sang really beautifully tonight."

"Thanks." Zelda answered with a smirk pulling at her lips. She turned her face to look at him.

"And uh…you look very beautiful tonight too." He added, slowly turning his body towards Zelda.

Zelda's smirk disappeared. She looked at Link, unconsciously moving her body to face Link.

"Thank you." She murmured. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Yes."

"What happened between you and Margaret?" Zelda asked, a small smile coming to her face when Link looked at her in surprise. "When there are opposite sexes in a band, there's bound to be hookups and romances."

"How do you know it was me?" Link countered, leaning forward.

"Was it?" Zelda leaned forward too, her smile slowly fading.

"We kissed a few times. That was about it. It was like kissed to decide if there was something between us. We never seemed to figure it out." Link answered.

"Hmm. I see."

Link found himself edging closer and closer to Zelda. He looked down at her from his height, waiting to see how she responded.

"Do you think that you can tell, in a kiss, if there is something between two people?" Link's voice was slightly husky when he spoke.

Zelda moved closer to Link. She craned her neck to lean her face up as Link slowly began to lower his.

"I don't know." She answered in a breath, her eyes fluttering closed as Link's hands found themselves gliding across her face and holding it gently in them.

Link closed his eyes as he lowered his lips to Zelda's. For a half a second, their lips were still against one another's. But then, Zelda was pressing against his harder. Link moved one hand into her hair and clutched it as he kissed her harder. His lips parted, and Zelda responded by sliding her hands up his chest and around his neck. Her mouth opened up to his as she felt his tongue against her lips.

"Zelda I…oh."

Zelda jerked out of Link's hold and away from his lips, to see Henry standing among the beads hanging in the doorway. When he saw Link and Zelda, he cleared his throat and disappeared behind the beads again.

Zelda didn't dare turn back to look at Link. She slid across the stool and made a break for it. She got up the stairs and into the bathroom before Link could call her back.

She stepped out of her skirt and pulled off her blouse, breathing heavily, and laid down on the bathroom floor with her clothes bundled beneath her head. She closed her eyes and concentrated on taking deep, even breaths to calm herself.

She wondered if Link felt the same, but quickly banished the thought from her mind.


	6. Familiar Pain

**Chapter Five - Familiar Pain**

Link laid wide awake in bed that night. He couldn't sleep after what had happened that night. He could still feel Zelda's kiss on his lips.

He had been frustrated when Henry had walked in on their kiss. It had obviously startled Zelda. Link had been a little hurt and very disappointed when Zelda had run away from him. He wondered if it was because she had been embarrassed or if she was afraid of her feelings or if she hadn't meant to kiss him at all…

Link had never had feelings beyond friendship for Zelda when they had lived back in Pamelia. He didn't know why all of a sudden he couldn't stop thinking about her or the kiss that they had shared.

Link considered that the reason he had never felt anything more than platonic for Zelda was because she had been dating his brother and he hadn't allowed himself to even think about it. But then again, he wondered if seeing Zelda as a young woman and hearing her sing…

He remembered his question to Zelda just before they had kissed. The answer, he knew now, was yes. When he had touched his lips to Zelda's, even in that moment of hesitation and stillness, he had felt a surge of electricity between them.

The vibrating of Link's phone on the floor brought him out of his thoughts. He looked down at the ground and squinted to see the name displayed on the screen. It was Grace.

Link was about to reach for his phone when he thought about something.

If he was falling for Zelda, and she was falling for him, he wondered how she would feel when she found out that her mom had paid him to come and look for her and bring her back home. He sighed and placed a hand over his face.

He knew exactly how she would feel. She wouldn't want anything to do with him ever again. And he wouldn't have blamed her. He knew how it would look to her.

_If I'm going to tell Zelda how I feel, I'm going to have to tell her about the deal between her mom and I._ Link thought.

Link threw back the covers and got out of bed. He took the time to pull on a pair of sweatpants before opening the door to his room. He looked at the floor in front of Zelda's door. The light was off.

He took a deep breath and slowly opened the door. When the light from the hall flooded into the bedroom, Link peeked his head in. His eyes widened when he saw someone underneath the covers, presumably Adrian, and Zelda laying on her stomach next to him, completely bare.

Link shut the door quietly and returned to his room.

Obviously if Zelda was still sleeping with Adrian, she hadn't felt the same electricity that Link had. He crawled into bed and picked up his phone off of the floor. He flipped it open and clicked Grace's number without looking.

"Hello? Link?" She picked up on the first ring.

"Hey Grace. Sorry I didn't pick up before. I was sleeping." Link said, his voice sounding sad to even his own ears. He cleared his throat, trying to get rid of the lump that was beginning to form there. "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry that I woke up. What's wrong Link? You sound like something's bothering you. Did something happen?" Grace's sentences ran together as she spoke.

"No nothing happened Grace." Link said. He wasn't lying. Nothing had happened. If it had been something, Zelda would have been in bed alone instead of with Adrian. "Like I said…I was sleeping. That's all."

"Maybe I should call you-"

"No it's okay. I'm awake."

"…have you talked to Zelda about coming home yet?" Grace asked after a few moments of silence.

"Not yet. We've been talking though. I think I'm going to try and bring up the past soon. Then, if she's willing to talk about it, I'll ask her to come home with me." Link rubbed his forehead. "Was that all?"

"Yes. Yes that was all." Grace was quiet for a minute. "Link are you sure you're okay? You-"

"I'm fine Grace." Link insisted. "I'll call you in a few days. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Link. Take care."

&

Zelda submerged herself in the water. She closed her eyes as she sunk into the bathtub. Her fingers twisted and intertwined with her hair as she rested her head at the bottom of the tub. Her legs came up out of the water, her ankles were locked between the dials.

She thought about the night before. She had laid on the bathroom floor for two hours. She had heard Link come up the stairs and go into his room. She had continued to lay there until she heard someone else coming up the stairs.

When she had opened the door and seen Adrian there, she had reached behind her and pulled her bra off of her body, looked at him, and then gone into her bedroom. He had followed close behind her.

After they had had sex, Adrian fell asleep and started snoring instantly. Zelda had laid in bed for awhile thinking about Link. But she had forced herself to fall asleep so that she would stop thinking about it.

Zelda came up for air and smoothed her hair back. She kept her ears beneath the water. She looked up at the ceiling and moved her fingers over her lips.

Even though she had had sex with Adrian, as well as kissed him, she could still feel Link's lips on her own. It was a gentle pressure with a heated fire behind it.

Zelda hadn't ever had any kind of romantic feelings for Link. Sure, she had loved him as her best friend. But the love she felt for him was strictly platonic. She had been dating his brother. _That _was who she had loved. But not as much as she had always thought…

&

_Five Years Ago…_

Zelda stuffed her clothes into the suitcases and duffel bags she had pulled from the closet. She wiped her nose and her eyes while she packed up the things she would be taking with her. She only packed up the important things.

Her cell phone vibrated again. She looked at the number. Alex had called her five times in the past half hour. She hadn't picked up any of his calls. She ignored her phone and continued throwing things into bags.

When her phone vibrated again she dropped the clothes she had in her hands and picked up her phone. She flipped it open.

"You never could take a hint Alex." She snapped immediately upon picking up.

"What? Zelda I-"

"Look save your breath. I don't really care about what you have to say. Find another girlfriend okay?"

"You don't mean-"

"I don't want to be with you anymore! Leave me alone!" She shouted.

Before Alex could attempt to say another word, she snapped her phone shut and chucked it across the room. She turned and swept her arm angrily across her nightstand. The lamp and pictures on it flew across the room with a crash.

Zelda wiped her nose on her sleeve and stared at the mess she had made. She slowly went to where everything had landed and got to her knees. She carefully moved aside the pieces of broken glass and picked up a picture of her and Alex. She tore it up into pieces and tossed them over her shoulder without another thought.

But then she picked up the wooden picture frame that held a picture of her and Link. It was taken in seventh grade. They both looked young and innocent…and happy. She lifted up the back of the frame and took the picture out. She folded it up and shoved it into her pocket.

Zelda got to her feet and continued to pack up her things. Ten minutes had passed when there was a knock at the door.

Zelda wondered who it was. Her mom had gone and her uncle wasn't supposed to be at her house until the next morning. She cautiously went to the door.

"Who is it?" She murmured, pressing her hands against the door.

"It's Link."

"Go away. I told you guys there isn't anything you can say to change my mind about anything. I'm not signing and I'm not staying."

She reached for the lock but the door started to open.

"Zelda talk to me." Link poked his face in.

"There isn't anything to talk about." She replied.

"Yes there is." He tried to open the door but she pressed harder on it.

"I don't want you here. Go away."

"Come on Zelda. It's me." Link put his fingers through the space and brushed them over Zelda's hand. "Talk to me."

"Get your hand out of the door before I slam it shut!" Zelda suddenly yelled, ripping her hand out of his reach.

Link slowly retracted his fingers just as Zelda shut the door on him.

"I'm not leaving until you talk to me Zelda." Link said calmly, but loud enough so that she could hear.

"Fine. Camp outside my door. I don't care." She replied, turning and resuming her packing.

On her way past the stereo, she pressed the button to turn it on and turned the volume up unnecessarily loud.

About an hour later, after she had finished packing and had turned down the volume gradually, Zelda emerged from her room. She was surprised that Link wasn't sitting outside her door. She was sure he would have stayed.

She went down the stairs to go into the kitchen. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw Link lounging on one of the couches in the living room. When he saw her, he sat up.

Neither of them had said a word. Zelda simply found her way over to the couch and ended up with her face pressed into Link's chest. Link had wound his arms around Zelda and held her while she cried.

At first she had been sobbing. But gradually she quieted until finally she was no longer shedding any tears at all.

Then, after Zelda had cried, she and Link got up off the couch without a word. She walked him to the door and stood in the doorway while he went to the Jeep and got in. For a few moments they stared at each other. But then Link started the car, pulled out of the driveway, and was gone.

That had been the last time they had seen each other.

&

Link didn't pay much attention to Zelda as she sang that night. He hardly glanced up at the stage at all while he took trays to tables and helped behind the bar. Henry hadn't said a word to Link about seeing them kissing. He figured it was pretty clear that it would have been a mistake to.

The only thing that kept Link from leaving and going back to Pamelia was the deal he had with Grace. He was there to convince Zelda to come home and he couldn't leave until he had done so. And even then, he had to leave with her to bring her home.

When Zelda's set was done, she was almost immediately pulled off of the stage by Adrian. He dragged her by the arm into a corner. It was clear that they were having a heated exchange by their facial expressions. Adrian clutched Zelda's arm in a vice grip. He had her up against the wall.

"Aren't you going to do something about that?" Henry asked as he watched Link inconspicuously watching the whole thing.

"No. It's not my problem." Link turned to look at Henry. "She can take care of herself."

"Oh I see." Henry nodded. He motioned to Adrian and Zelda. "So you're just going to let that fucking toolbag scuzzball steal your woman?"

"My woman? Have you been drinking tonight Henry?" Link asked sarcastically, moving away from him to go help Tom out.

Link's eyes flickered up from the tray he was carrying to see Henry waving Adrian away and leading Zelda off somewhere else. When he saw that someone else had taken care of it, he went back to working.

"You know what I think?" Tom asked suddenly when Link returned to the bar.

"What's that?" Link asked, not knowing what Tom was referring to.

"I think she dates him because of the way he treats her. I think she _wants_ to be treated badly." Tom nodded his head towards Zelda, who was talking to a table of customers with Henry at her side. She looked bored.

"Why would she want that?"

"I don't know. It's just that…whenever anyone else says something to her that she doesn't like, she puts them in their place. But when Adrian yells and cusses at her…it's like she responds by egging him on…like she wants him to get mad."

"I think you're reading too much into it. Maybe he's really very charming underneath all that facial hair." Link said seriously, but his lips pulled into a wide smile.

"Yeah maybe." Tom didn't smile. He continued looking at Zelda for another moment before shaking his head and then going down to the opposite end of the bar to retrieve empty glasses.

Link looked over at Zelda. He remembered the exchange he had had with Adrian the other day:

"_You're never gonna get her attention that way." Adrian said with a throaty chuckle. He pushed past Link and banged his fist hard on the door. "Charlotte! I know you aren't deaf bitch! Charlotte!"_

"_I don't really think that's necessary-"_

"_You must be deaf. I told you not to call me by that fucking stupid name!" Zelda suddenly shouted._

"_I don't really give a shit. Now get the fuck out of there before I break down this door!" Adrian continued to pound on the door._

"_Hey," Link grabbed Adrian's shoulder firmly, "don't you talk to her that way."_

"_What's the problem?" Adrian moved a step closer to Link and looked up at him menacingly. "I can talk to that bitch any way that I want to."_

_Before Link could respond, the bathroom door opened. _

"_Leave him alone Link." Zelda pushed past both of them and bounded down the stairs._

Link had been sticking up for Zelda. And yet she had told him to leave Adrian alone.

He wondered if maybe Tom was right.

"Hey Link…would you mind driving this lovely young lady home? The cab that was taking her and her friends home left without her." Tom asked, winking at him.

"Sure thing." Link said, taking his eyes from Zelda.

&

Zelda rolled the sleeves of her button up shirt. She was sitting cross legged on her bed, holding Bruise in her lap. She plucked the strings along with the music coming from the stereo she had brought up from the downstairs. She hummed with the words of the different songs.

The door opened and in came Adrian, his nostrils flared and his face becoming more red and more red by the minute.

"What the fuck do you want?" Zelda asked without looking up. She didn't flinch or jolt when he slammed the door shut.

"You didn't think we were done talking did you?" Adrian growled through clenched teeth. "Now you fucking tell me right now…what the fuck is going on between you and that fucking guy?"

"Nothing is going on." Zelda stopped playing and looked up. "I thought I told you not to stay here tonight. Get the fuck out of my room."

Adrian walked towards her. He turned the volume on the stereo up so loud that it began to vibrate against the floor.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"I said get the fuck out of here Adrian." Zelda said, jumping to her feet after she had pushed Bruise off her lap and onto the bed.

Adrian grabbed Zelda by the arms and flung her back onto the bed. He descended on her, his hands finding her shirt and ripping it open. Buttons flew in every direction. Her shirt opened to reveal her bra.

"What the fuck are you doing?! Get off me!" Zelda shouted, pushing at Adrian's shoulders and struggling beneath his weight.

"Nobody is gonna hear you baby." Adrian said, his hands still holding Zelda down. "Henry and Tom left for the night. And your precious fuck buddy went out."

Adrian moved one hand down to his pants. He began to undo them.

Zelda took her opportunity and grabbed Adrian's hair and pulled back on it as hard as she could. The hand that had been holding her arm down moved to grab her hand from his hair.

She pushed him off of her and ran for the door, only to find herself being thrown against it and pinned there.

"You're gonna pay for that one bitch." Adrian breathed into Zelda's ear. "More than once. Until I'm completely fucking satisfied."

Zelda struggled as Adrian roughly pulled her shorts down. When most of his weight was gone from against her, she figured he was undoing his pants. She took the second opportunity she had been handed and elbowed Adrian hard in the ribs.

She heard his sharp intake of breath and grabbed the doorknob. But she was startled by how quickly he recovered. She was suddenly thrown backward onto the floor. The bare skin that connected with the hard wood floor burned.

"You…fucking bitch." Adrian snarled.

He was on her in a second. He took a different approach.

Zelda remembered the familiar pain as Adrian connected a punch with her face. It sent her head in a different direction and created bright lights and dancing colors in front of her eyes. She tried to blink but discovered that it hurt her right eye to do so.

But before she had time to process the first punch, another one assaulted her face, this time her mouth. Luckily her lips had been closed and her jaw had been clenched. She could feel the split that had been there before reopening and swallowed the metallic taste of blood.

"Now let's see you get away from me." Adrian growled.

Zelda blinked and could finally see beyond the colors and lights. She watched Adrian begin to fish into his boxers. With the tightest fist she could manage, she aimed and struck. She could tell she caused some damage when she heard Adrian sputtering and coughing amidst the groans that came from his throat.

She was surprised when she felt Adrian get off of her. She was still reeling from the punches to her face. She managed to roll over onto her stomach. She tried to collect herself to get up off the floor.

But then she was suddenly aware of Adrian's presence beside her. She managed to turn her head slightly to look up at him. Her left eye widened, while the right one continued to grow smaller, as she saw him standing over her, Bruise raised high over his head.

Zelda pressed her face to the floor and moved her arms to cover her head.


	7. Warm Lips And Beautiful Eyes

**Chapter Six - Warm Lips And Beautiful Eyes**

Author's Note: The song used in this chapter is called "All We'd Ever Need" by Lady Antebellum. By the way, thanks to the few people that review. I appreciate it.

&

Link got back from dropping off the drunk girl and locked up before heading up the stairs. As he got to the bottom of the stairs, he could hear loud music coming from Zelda's room. He thought that was odd. He hadn't ever heard her play music in the time he had been there.

He went up the stairs and into the bathroom. He started the water for a shower and then started to head back into his room when he heard something as the song that had been playing in Zelda's room ended. He turned to face her bedroom door.

Another song began to play as Link reached for the doorknob.

"Zelda?" He waited for a second outside the door.

When there was no answer, he assumed that she couldn't hear him over the music. Link was about to open the door when he thought about something. He wondered if maybe Adrian was in there with her. Link didn't want to walk in on anything.

But just as he turned to go back into his room for clothes, he heard a loud crash come from Zelda's bedroom. And the image of Adrian holding Zelda against a wall flittered through his mind.

"Zelda?!" He called, flying to the door.

Link tried the doorknob but the door was locked. He banged on the door with his fist while he continued to jiggle the doorknob.

"Zelda?! Zelda?! Open up!"

Link moved back away from the door. He took a deep breath and then proceeded to slam himself up against the door with all his strength. The door went flying into the room, wood splintering and hinges squeaking.

When Link saw that Adrian had been hovering over Zelda with his pants at his ankles, he grabbed him by his ponytail and jerked him backwards into the wall. He held him around the throat.

"What did you do to her?" He growled angrily.

Instead of a verbal response, Adrian attempted to punch Link in the face. But with Link's free hand, he blocked the blow. He jerked his head forward and his and Adrian's head collided with a resounding crack. Link had played enough football to be able to take blows to the head. Adrian sank to his knees, hands cradling his head.

Link turned and his eyes grew wide. He felt as though the breath had been knocked from his lungs.

Zelda laid face first on the ground. Her dark hair appeared darker and wet. Link's eyes spotted blood on the hard wood floor around her head. Her guitar was in pieces all around her head and across the floor. She wore only her bra and underwear.

"You bastard!" Link roared, spinning around with a kick aimed at Adrian's face.

Adrian fell back against the wall with a simultaneous crack, blood already spurting out his nose from the kick to the face.

Link balled up his fists and connected punch after punch to Adrian's face and head. Each time, his head was sent flying back against the wall. Link kept at it, his knuckles becoming bloodied in the process.

"Link?"

It was the only thing that could have put a stop to the savage beating. Link turned to see Zelda moving slightly. She was moaning in pain and breathing raggedly.

"Zelda." Link went to her side without another thought to Adrian. He gently tipped her to lay on her side. "Zelda? Zelda can you hear me?"

"Link." Zelda's eyes were barely open.

Link removed his shirt quickly. He balled it up and, with the utmost care, lifted Zelda's head so that he could push the bundle beneath it. He then laid her head back down.

"I'll be right back. I have to get my phone to call for help." Link reached out and brushed his fingers over Zelda's forehead very carefully. "Stay awake. And don't move."

Link got up and fled the room. He reached his phone and dialed 911. The operator took down his information and told him that an ambulance and the police would be there in five or ten minutes. The operator also instructed Link to keep Zelda conscious until the paramedics got there.

Link brought his phone with him when he returned to Zelda. He grabbed her blanket from off the bed and draped them over her. He kneeled down beside her and moved the bangs out of her face.

"Zelda? Are you still awake?"

"…yes." She answered weakly. She kept her eyes closed.

"Talk to me. You have to stay awake until help gets here." Link reached for one of Zelda's hands and held it in his. "Talk to me."

"I…I don't know…what to say."

"Tell me anything. Tell me a story. It doesn't matter." He moved his fingers through her hair. His fingertips brushed against some of her hair that was wet with blood. "Hold onto my hand baby. Hold onto my voice."

Zelda curled her fingers around Link's hand.

"I…write my own…my own songs sometimes." She said after a moment. "I started to…after I…after I taught myself how to…how to play guitar."

"Do you ever play them onstage?" Link asked, moving his free hand to the back of Zelda's head. He covered the gash with his palm and applied pressure. Zelda emitted sounds of pain and her breathing became more ragged. "I know it hurts. Just keep talking okay? Help will be here soon and then you can sleep."

"I've…never played them…onstage. I…always play…other people's…other people's songs."

"Why?" Link remembered that he had locked everything up downstairs. "Shit! Zelda I have to go unlock the door for when the paramedics get here. I'll be right back okay? Stay awake. Talk out loud to yourself if you need to."

Link gently released Zelda's hand and left the room as quickly as he had before. He bounded down the stairs and nearly fell into the door when he reached it. After he had unlocked it and looked outside to see if he could see anyone coming, he ran back up the stairs.

"Zelda?" He went to her side and dropped down beside her again. "Zelda?"

He put his bloody hand to the back of her head again. He was concerned when he didn't hear Zelda make sounds of protest or pain. He reached for her hand with his free one. She didn't grab onto it.

"Zelda? No. No. No." He let go of her hand and moved his fingers to Zelda's throat. He pressed his fingers into her skin and felt for her pulse. "Come on stay with me baby. Wake up. Wake up Zelda."

He removed his fingers from her neck, his mind racing. He did the only thing he could think of to wake Zelda. He held her nose tight between his fingers and removed his hand from the back of her head to keep her mouth closed tight.

After a moment, Zelda's eyes fluttered open and she began to struggle. Link released her nose and jaw.

"Don't fall asleep." He said with a husky voice. He hadn't noticed until that moment but his whole body was shaking. "Don't fall asleep."

"It's hard." She whispered.

"Look at me." He lowered himself more to her level. "Look into my eyes."

He looked into Zelda's eyes. She had taken her contacts out. He could see her brilliant, blue eyes for the first time in a long time. But he also saw that her right eye was beginning to bruise and it was swollen.

"You have…you have…beautiful…eyes." Zelda murmured.

"Mine are nothing compared to yours." Link replied, brushing his thumb over her left eyelid and down her jaw line.

"Just…just take the…compliment." Zelda said with a smile pulling at her lips.

"I suppose I should. I'll never get one from you when you aren't losing blood and have a concussion." Link said, smiling down at her crookedly.

Zelda laughed tiredly.

"If…if my lip…wasn't…bloody…I would…I would ask you to…kiss me again."

"Why is that?" Link asked, noticing that her lip was indeed split.

"My lips have…felt…warm…since we kissed." Zelda closed her eyes and cuddled closer to Link's shirt beneath her head. "It…it's nice."

Link was about to respond when he heard movement downstairs, and voices calling up the stairs.

"We're up here!" He shouted, craning his neck away from Zelda so that he wasn't raising his voice so close to her. "Everything is going to be okay Zelda."

Then there were two men in the room with a gurney. One of them carried a bag of medical supplies. The other carried a tank of oxygen and a mask to go with it.

"How are you doing kid?" One of the paramedics asked, pulling a little flashlight from his bag. He shined it in Zelda's eyes, which visibly pained her, before replacing it. He turned to his partner. "Her pupils are dilated."

"We're going to lift you up onto this gurney okay kid?" The second paramedic said.

Link stepped back while the paramedics lifted Zelda up onto the gurney. He watched while they worked to cover Zelda's head wound until they could get into the ambulance. Then they put the oxygen mask over her face.

"The police are waiting downstairs. Are you going to be riding with us to the hospital?" One of the men asked as they wheeled Zelda towards the door.

"Yes." He answered. "I'll be downstairs."

Link went down to the bar. Two police officers were waiting there.

"My name is Link Daugherty. I made the call. My…friend is the one who was assaulted. Her boyfriend is the one who did it. He's upstairs. I have to go now." He started to walk past them towards the door.

"Wait a second. We're going to need your-"

"Nobody else is here. I have to go to the hospital with my friend." Link moved to the door and opened it. He leaned against it. "Can one of you come by the hospital after you take Adrian in to get my statement?"

"Yes. I suppose we can do that." One of the officers took out a notepad and scribbled something into it. "Myself or Officer Schmidt will be by the hospital later."

The paramedics appeared with Zelda, and rolled her towards the door that Link held open for them.

"Stay…with me." Zelda whimpered from behind the oxygen mask. Her quivering hand moved from her side as best as she could. She looked up at Link with frightened eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere baby. I'm right here." Link said soothingly, taking her hand in his as he walked alongside the gurney. He released her hand when the paramedics put the gurney into the back of the ambulance.

Once they were inside, he got in with them and sat by Zelda's side.

&

Zelda woke up with a ache in her head. She opened her eyes and was assaulted by bright lights. As she went to shield her eyes, she discovered the IV in her wrist.

"Here."

Zelda turned to see Link at her side. He stood and moved over her. When he did, the lights dimmed considerably. He took his seat in the chair by her bed.

"Is that better?" Link asked concernedly.

"Yeah. Thanks." Zelda relaxed against the pillows.

"I'm glad you're awake." Link said softly, reaching out and taking one of Zelda's hands into his. He moved his thumb back and forth rhythmically over the back of her hand and knuckles. "I was…well I was really worried about you."

"I'm okay." Zelda assured him, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

"Well you're alive."

"How bad was it?" Zelda moved her head to the edge of the pillows and scooted herself closer towards Link.

"You had a concussion. There wasn't any swelling in your brain but the doctors wanted to keep you here for observation." Link moved his other hand to Zelda's face. He swept one of his fingers over Zelda's lower lip. "You have a split lip and a shiner."

"That's it?" Zelda asked with a raised eyebrow. "Why were you so worried?"

"What do you mean 'that's it'? You could have died." Link said with a furrowed brow. He leaned back in his chair and let go of Zelda's hand. "That…that fucking piece of shit could have killed you. He doesn't deserve to breathe."

"Where is he now?"

"ICU." Link answered, looking away from Zelda and crossing his arms over his chest. "Once he's released he's going to be arrested and charged for what he did to you."

"Why is he in ICU?" Zelda asked, her eyes going wide.

"Don't worry about it." Link answered, still looking away from her.

"Is it bad?" Zelda asked softly, reaching her fingers out and brushing them over his arm.

"…I broke his nose and three bones in his face…and gave him a concussion of his own." Link cracked the knuckles in his left hand. His arm flexed beneath Zelda's fingers. She kept them there.

"You shouldn't have done that."

"Zelda do you not comprehend what he did to you?" Link asked, turning head to face Zelda. He leaned forward and uncrossed his arms.

Zelda removed her fingers from him.

"He has a temper-"

"I don't give a flying fuck!" Link shouted, nearly overturning his chair when he leapt to his feet. "Everyone gets angry. But only sick bastards beat their girlfriends. And I'm guessing by the fact that I found you half naked that he tried to rape you too."

"Hey don't start talking shit about people that beat up their girlfriends. It sounds like you sure gave Adrian one hell of a beating." Zelda snapped.

"Why are you defending him?!" Link waved his arms wildly. "Why?!"

"Be quiet-"

"Why are you defending him?" Link asked, lowering his voice only slightly.

"Link shut up-"

"Why?"

"Because I wanted him to hurt me okay?! I wanted him to fucking beat me up!" Zelda screamed, sitting up and throwing herself forward.

Link just stared at Zelda as she sat there, breathing heavily. He stood there, listening to the beeping of her heart rate monitor, which had accelerated during their fight, as it slowly evened back out to a normal rhythm.

"I can't do this." He finally said, returning to his chair for his jacket. He slowly pulled it on. "Henry already came by earlier when you were sleeping. Tom said he was coming by later. He can bring you home."

Without looking at her once, Link left the room.

&

Link had just finished playing the second to last song of the night. Henry had asked him if he would be willing to perform in Zelda's place that night. He had agreed to, and had played a lot of angry songs on his electric guitar before Henry kindly asked him to play one or two nice ones on his acoustic guitar.

"Alright guys…last song of the…night…" Link's voice trailed off when he looked up and saw Tom holding the door open for Zelda as she walked in. Their eyes met instantly and all he could think of was her body on the floor of her bedroom. He looked away from her.

"Uh…so like I said it's the uh…last song-"

"Hey Link!" Zelda suddenly called. She waited until his eyes slowly flickered back up to meet hers. "Do you mind if I do this last one with you?"

Link looked at Tom, who nodded violently from behind Zelda. Then he looked at Henry, who was already collecting a second stool and bringing it up to the stage. He set it down by Link quietly before heading back to the bar.

Zelda made her way up to the stage, not looking away from Link's eyes. She sat down on the stool beside Link.

"Electric or acoustic?" He asked quietly, holding his acoustic guitar in his lap.

"Acoustic. Follow my lead." Zelda tried to smile but her lips only twitched. She cleared her throat and looked away from Link to talk into the microphone. "Hey. This one's called 'All We'd Ever Need' and…it isn't ours."

Zelda waited for Link to start strumming before she sang.

"Boy it's been all this time, and I can't get you off my mind, and nobody knows it but me. I stare at your photograph, still sleep in the shirt you left, and nobody knows it but me.

Everyday I wipe my tears away, so many nights I've prayed for you to say."

Zelda looked over at Link. But he didn't look back. She wondered in that second if he was going to sing with her. She got her answer when she began to sang and his voice laced perfectly with hers.

"I should've been chasing you, I should've been trying to prove, that you were all that mattered to me, I should've said all the things that I kept inside of me, and maybe I could've made you believe, that what we had was all we'd ever need."

Link sang the next part alone. He closed his eyes as he sang the words and moved his fingers along the strings of his guitar.

"My friends think I'm moving on, but the truth is I'm not that strong, and nobody knows it but me.

And I've kept all the words you said, in a box underneath my bed, and nobody knows it but me."

Zelda, who had been watching Link the whole time, offered her voice to back his.

"But if you're happy I'll get through somehow, but the truth is that I've been screaming out.

I should've been chasing you, I should've been trying to prove, that you were all that mattered to me, I should've said all the things that I kept inside of me, and maybe I could've made you believe, that what we had was all we'd ever need."

Zelda's vision had become blurry halfway through the chorus. The next thing she knew, she had tears streaming down her face. She tried to keep her lips and her voice from quivering while she sang.

Link finally looked over at Zelda when he heard the emotion in her voice. He was surprised and felt his heart squeeze tightly in his chest when he saw the tears on her face. Though he was the only one playing guitar, he set it down and reached over to brush the tears from her face.

Zelda's tear filled eyes met his and they both continued to sing at the same time, without the accompaniment of the guitar.

"I should've been chasing you, I should've been trying to prove, that you were all that mattered to me, oh you should've said all the things, that I kept inside of me, and maybe you could've made me believe, that what we had girl, oh that what we had, what we had, it was all we'd ever need, it was all we'd ever need."

When the song was done, Link continued to gently remove the tears from Zelda's face. It was the only time that the audience hadn't burst into applause and cheering. It was completely silent except for Zelda's soft crying.

"We have to talk." She finally said, covering his fingers with her own.


	8. Cutting To The Chase

**Chapter Seven - Cutting To The Chase**

_Five Years Ago…_

Zelda brushed through her long hair. She decided to put it back into a braid. Her fingers plaited her hair quickly. She tied it off with a red ribbon to match the red dress she was wearing.

She was going out to dinner with Alex, Link, and their mom. Alex had originally made reservations for two, but Zelda had called Link and invited him and his mom. Their dad had been out of town on business for two weeks and wouldn't be back for another two. Zelda figured that his wife could use the company.

They were celebrating the very real possibility that Legend Technical would be signing with Black Tower Records within the next week or so. The parents had all sat down for a meeting with the label's owner the previous night. They were still negotiating and talking things out.

Zelda was just about to open the door to the bathroom to get her makeup from her bedroom when she heard her parents yelling downstairs. She crept down the stairs to try and listen in on what they were saying.

"…fucking liar! You have lied to me for seventeen years Grace! Seventeen years!" Her dad yelled at the top of his lungs.

Zelda had only heard her dad yell that way a handful of times in her life. She kneeled down on the stairs and listened.

"Why does it matter that she isn't _biologically_ yours? _You_ are her father. Daniel-"

"What matters is that you and Daniel slept together while we were engaged! You fucked around behind my back Grace."

Zelda fell back against the stairs. Had she heard correctly?

"Eric-"

"Shut up Grace! Just shut up!"

Then there were footsteps coming towards Zelda. She scurried backward but wasn't quick enough. Her dad stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at her. For a long time neither of them spoke.

"Daddy…" Zelda started to stand but her dad turned his back on her and left through the front door, slamming it hard enough to knock a picture frame off the wall.

Zelda slowly made her way down the stairs. She was shaking and could feel tears beginning to well up in her eyes. She turned the corner and saw her mom sitting on one of the couches with her face in her hands.

&

"The reason that I changed my appearance so much is because…my dad left my mom and I because he couldn't even stand to look at me." Zelda explained, pulling her knees tighter into her chest. "And after I found a picture of Daniel…I figured out why. I look exactly like him from the color of my hair to the color of my eyes."

Zelda sat in between Link's legs on the opposite side of the empty tub. She rested her chin on her knees and looked across the tub at him. He had his arms on the sides of the tub and his eyes were on hers.

"I always wondered how I turned out the way I did. My dad had dark hair and my mom had dark blonde hair, more like your color. My dad had brown eyes and, yeah, my mom has blue eyes…but not like mine…not like his."

"You shouldn't feel ashamed to look like your real dad. There isn't anything wrong with that." Link replied softly, sitting forward.

"Link, my mom cheated on my dad. The result was me. Of course I should feel ashamed. I'm the reason my dad left." Zelda pressed her cheek against her knees and looked at the wall.

"Your mom didn't mean what she said to you Zelda."

"Oh really?" Zelda picked her head up and narrowed her eyes at Link. "If my mom didn't mean what she said to me then why did she leave me at home alone to go after my dad? Why didn't she come to my aunt and uncle's and apologize and ask me to come home? Why hasn't she been looking for me?"

"Maybe she feels like she can't. Maybe she's ashamed of herself." Link suggested slowly, leaning back against the tub. He tried to appear innocent.

"Link…my own mom fucking told me that I was the fucking reason my dad was going to leave us. She told me she wished I'd never been born. She told me she wouldn't shed one tear if she never saw me again." Zelda looked down. "And then she left."

"Zelda…tell me about the abuse." Link said, cutting to the chase.

"I've been in the hospital before." Zelda laid her head back against the tub and closed her eyes. "Bobby broke my arm. I needed twelve stitches after Ted threw me against a window and my elbow went crashing through it. And I had a bad sprain after Ethan pushed me down a flight of stairs."

"Why? Why do you seek those guys out and date them? Why do you want them to hurt you?" Link asked, his tone pleading as he sat up and moved forward.

"I didn't used to. After I first left my aunt and uncle's, I used to hurt myself. I used my razor and sometimes I'd break beer bottles and use the jagged edges." Zelda laughed darkly to herself. "I was something straight out of a stupid emo song."

"Why do you need the physical pain? Does it take your mind off of the pain inside of you?"

"Actually if that were the case…I wouldn't have cut myself and I wouldn't date creeps with violent streaks." Zelda lifted her head and looked at Link. "I need the physical pain as punishment."

"Punishment?"

Zelda waved her hand and grabbed the side of the tub to pull herself out.

"Forget it Link. I think we talked enough." She murmured.

"No." Link caught her wrist and pulled her back down. "Stay."

"Really…I think that's enough for tonight." Zelda gave him a half smile and moved to get out but Link didn't release her. "Come on Link let go."

"Zelda…you feel like you need to be punished…for being born?" Link asked, his brow furrowing. He gently tugged Zelda towards him.

"My mom was right." Zelda's voice was suddenly hoarse and squeaky as her face scrunched and the tears came again. "She was right about me. It was my fault."

"No. No. Come here." Link said gently, pulling her down into his lap. He wrapped her in his arms while she curled up into a ball. Her head was pressed firmly to his chest. "Shh. Shh."

Link held Zelda's shaking body close and rocked her ever so slightly in his arms. One of his hands held her face tenderly, his thumb wiping away her tears and his other fingers brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"Listen to me Zelda. It wasn't your fault what happened. Your dad…he left because of your mom…because she was unfaithful and she had been lying to him for years. He felt betrayed by her. And your mom was just upset when she said those hateful things to you. She didn't mean what she said." Link murmured into Zelda's ear.

Zelda continued to cry. She snuggled her head against Link's broad chest and tried to take comfort from his strong arms. She hadn't felt that safe, that cared for in years. She closed her eyes, tears streaming from them still, and focused on the motion of her head rising and falling with Link's deep and even breaths.

She pressed her ear to his chest and listened for his heartbeat. Once she heard it, she made the attempt to calm herself down by counting each strong, yet gentle, thump.

"How are your lips?" Link asked after a moment, a smile coming to his face. He meant to change the subject, be he was also interested to see how Zelda reacted.

"What?" She asked.

"You don't remember?" Link asked confusedly, moving his fingers through Zelda's hair. He minded the bandaging at the back of her head. "You told me that your lips felt warm after I kissed you."

"When did I tell you that?" Zelda breathed, her eyes fluttering open.

"When we were waiting for the ambulance. I had to keep you talking to keep you awake. You told me that if you hadn't had a bloody lip, you would have asked for a kiss."

Link slowly moved his fingers to Zelda's chin and moved her face up so that he could look into her eyes and see her face. He gazed into her eyes, still void of her contacts, and unwound his other arm from around her to brush back the hair from her face.

"Your lip isn't bleeding now." Link's voice was husky.

"Link…do you love me?" Zelda asked suddenly, reaching a hand up to hold his face. She shuddered when he leaned into her palm.

"Yes." Link whispered. He lowered his face to hers. "I love you."

His lips met hers. He used a gentle pressure, minding the cut that was fairly fresh and still healing. He was surprised when her lips parted not long after they kissed. He ran his tongue along her lower lip and bit back the smile that began to form when Zelda moaned quietly.

"I think that's enough kissing for now." Link murmured, brushing the tip of his nose over hers before pulling his face away.

Zelda tucked her head back against his chest. She smiled contentedly when his arms moved around her body and pulled her close to him. She closed her eyes and her smile widened when she heard Link's heart thumping quicker than it had been before.

&

Link let Zelda fall asleep against his chest. He held her in his arms, watching over her. He watched her eyelids twitching and fluttering with each passing dream. He watched her breathe.

Link pressed a kiss to the top of Zelda's head. His fingers moved over her bruised eye and then over her lip. He tried not to think about how she had looked the night before. He focused on counting each breath she took.

After what seemed like hours of sitting that way, Link decided that he had to get Zelda into her bed. He had to sleep too.

With the utmost care, he gathered Zelda into his arms and stood up. Her head lolled over his arm, her hair hanging and swinging with his every movement. One of her arms broke free from around his neck and hung like her hair did.

Link stepped out of the tub and went into Zelda's room. The door was positioned against a wall. Somebody was supposed to come by in the morning to replace it.

Link laid Zelda down in her bed, positioning her head into a comfortable place on her pillow. He put her arms at her sides before pulling the blankets up and over her. He tucked them in around her.

He looked down at her for a moment. She looked peaceful in her sleep. Link wasn't sure if he wanted to leave her. He decided to get into bed with her, if only for a little while.

Link got into the bed beside Zelda. He laid at her side with his arms beneath his head. He stared up at the ceiling and thought about what he had told Zelda. He did love her. He hadn't just said it to make her feel better. He had fallen in love with her and wanted to be with her.

He looked over at her and moved his thumb over her forehead.

Link knew he had to tell her about the deal between her mom and himself. He was in the same position as before, except this time, Adrian wasn't standing in his way.


	9. Taking Things Slowly

**Chapter Eight - Taking Things Slowly**

Author's Note: The song used in this chapter is called "Paperweight" by Joshua Radin and Schuyler Fisk.

&

Zelda woke up with her head pillowed on Link's chest. She cuddled closer to him, her arm tightening around his midsection. She held her nose to his white T-shirt and breathed in his scent. He smelled faintly of spicy cologne and dryer sheets. It was a wonderful combination. She breathed in heavily again and sighed.

"I didn't realize I was an air freshener." Zelda heard Link's voice from deep within his chest. She sat up out of his arms, startled. She noticed that Link's facial expression changed from amused to sad, as if he missed her being close to him. "I didn't mean to startle you. I'm sorry."

"No it's okay." Zelda smiled down at him. She slowly lowered herself down to his chest and his arms found themselves around her before her head was even on his chest. She heard a sigh of contentment in his chest and her smile grew.

"So do I smell heinous? Or-"

"No. You smell good." Zelda answered, her arm creeping across his stomach again. "Why would I have been smelling you if you smelled bad?"

"I don't know. Maybe that turns you on." Link answered, shifting underneath her slightly. His fingers moved through her dark hair.

"Yeah totally. I like guys that will beat me up and not wear deodorant." Zelda began to laugh when Link's fingers left her hair and he had grabbed her arms and held her up so that she could see his face.

"Don't joke about that." Link murmured seriously. "I won't ever be able to forget that night that I found you on the floor. It was hands down the scariest moment of my life."

Zelda looked into Link's eyes. It was as if she could see his memory from that night reflected there. She felt immediate guilt knotting her stomach. She dropped her face and looked down at the bed.

"Hey. None of that." Link tipped her chin up. "I'm not telling you that because I want you to feel bad. I'm telling you that it isn't funny to joke about something like that."

"I won't. I'm sorry." Zelda reached out and very carefully brushed her fingers from Link's temple to his jaw. She watched his eyes flutter close when her fingertips touched his skin.

"You're a lot nicer now you know?" Link cracked a smile but kept his eyes closed.

"Was I not before?" Zelda asked innocently. When Link picked his head up and looked at her with slightly widened, she laughed out loud. "Okay yeah I was a bitch."

"Was is that heard to say?" Link smiled again as he lifted his hand to sweep it beneath her bangs and along her jaw line.

"Since I'm such a bitch…I guess I'll just leave now." Zelda said with a mock sigh.

But when she made the move to get off of Link, she found herself on her back. He hovered over her, one hand cupping her cheek and the other planted firmly on the mattress, holding himself up.

"You'll do no such thing." He murmured, leaning down to kiss her.

Link pressed his lips to Zelda's, who immediately parted her lips and ran her tongue in a slow circle over his lips. He shuddered, not just from holding himself up. He slowly slipped his tongue past her lips and she moaned softly.

"I hate having to get up…but I have to change the bandages on my head." Zelda managed to say between the kisses that Link pressed upon her lips.

"Do it in a minute." He replied, moving his fingers into her hair as he deepened their kiss.

"I didn't change them last night."

Link groaned but rolled off of Zelda. He ran his fingers up and down her arm when she sat up and looked down at him.

"I know." He opened his eyes to look at her. "I'll help you."

"Thanks." Zelda leaned down and brushed her lips over his for a moment before getting off the bed and heading into the bathroom.

&

"So…what the fuck's going on between you and Link?" Henry asked Zelda as she sat at the bar, having a drink before going up onstage.

"What makes you think-"

"That boy is always looking at you." Henry nodded and Zelda turned to see Link setting a tray down on a table and turned his head in her direction. They both smiled at each other before Link turned his attention back to the table and Zelda turned to face Henry. "But _that's _what's different."

"What?"

"You look back." Henry said as he leaned in, a smile forming on his face.

"So what if something is going on?" Zelda challenged, leaning in herself.

"I wouldn't care." Henry said, an apathetic look taking over his features as he leaned away from Zelda. "In fact, I think it'd be good."

"I just…I don't know how I feel about things." Zelda said after a moment, her voice low so that only Henry could hear.

"You feel _something _for him. Otherwise you wouldn't look at him the way you have been."

Zelda turned to watch Link weave through the tables towards the bar. When he got to the bar he handed the tray over to Henry with a huff.

"I've been in quite a few bars…but people never fail to ware me out." Link waited for Henry to refill the tray with pitchers of beer.

Zelda had been focused on her drink. She was surprised when Link pressed a kiss to her head before taking the tray from Henry and making his way back into the crowd of people gathered around the tables.

"By the way…until you manage to find a Bruise Two, I asked a friend if he could loan you one of his guitars." Henry produced an acoustic guitar from behind the bar and handed it over to Zelda.

"Is that a hint Henry?" Zelda asked with a smile.

She got up from her stool after downing the rest of her beer and headed up to the stage with the guitar. She sat down and held the guitar in her lap. She was about to start tuning it when she looked up and saw Link watching her.

"Hey Link," she said into the microphone as Henry started walking up to the stage, "you want to go get your guitar and sing with me?"

"Acoustic?!" He shouted back with a smile.

Zelda nodded and he was dropping his tray on the bar as he headed quickly through the beads. The whole bar could hear him bounding up the stairs and laughed.

"Tell them a joke Henry. I have to tune this thing." Zelda mumbled, her fingers already working.

"Hmm. Okay. How are women and tornadoes alike?" Henry paused for a moment before delivering the punch line. "They both moan a fucking lot when they come and take the house when they leave."

The audience roared with laughter, especially the men. Zelda even chuckled.

"Tell them another one."

"Okay. There are four kinds of sex. I don't know if you all knew that. But there are. The first kind is called house sex. That's those newlywed couples that fuck all over the goddamn house all the time. Then there's bedroom sex. That's when you've been married for awhile and you only have sex in the bedroom. Then there's hall sex. That's after you've been married even longer and as you pass each other in the hall you both yell 'FUCK YOU!' at each other. And the fourth kind of sex is when your soon-to-be-ex and her lawyer fuck you in court for every penny you've got."

The laughter got louder as Link emerged with his guitar, looking confused.

"Henry is divorced by the way." Zelda said into the microphone.

"Twice." Henry announced. "Alright here are these two fuckers. They're gonna sing for you."

"Okay. This one's called 'Paperweight' and it isn't ours." Zelda waited for Link to sit down on the stool next to her.

She had purposefully picked that song, and not only because it required both of their voices and playing.

"Been up all night staring at you, wondering what's on your mind, I've been this way with so many before but this feels like the first time.

You want the sunrise to go back to bed, I want to make you laugh.

Mess up my bed with me, kick off the covers, I'm waiting, every word you say I think I should write down, don't want to forget come daylight.

Happy to lay here, just happy to be here, I'm happy to know you, play me a song, your newest one, please leave your taste on my tongue.

Paperweight on my back, cover me like a blanket.

Mess up my bed with me, kick off the covers, I'm waiting, every word you say I think I should write down, don't want to forget come daylight.

And no need to worry, that's wasting time, and no need to wonder what's been on my mind, it's you, it's you, it's you.

Every word you say I think I should write down, don't want to forget come daylight.

And I give up, I let you win, you win 'cause I'm not counting

You made it back to sleep again, wonder what you're dreaming."

&

When the set was over, Link sat down at the bar next to Zelda.

"Thanks for asking me to sing with you tonight." He said, reaching over and covering her hand with his.

"You don't have to thank me." Zelda said, turning to look at him. "I'm not going to lie…I didn't miss Legend Technical all that much. But I missed playing with you."

"Why do you think we never…I mean why didn't we-"

"Why didn't we ever date?" Zelda asked, raising an eyebrow. "I think that…in order to have a meaningful and long lasting relationship, you have to be friends with someone first. Maybe, subconsciously, that's what we were doing."

"Maybe." Link smiled and held her hand tighter in his. "So do you want to have a drink or did you want to go up to bed?"

"Link…I really do want to try having a relationship with you. But after all that happened…don't you think that we should take things slow? I know that seems stupid after all the kissing we've done but…" Zelda shrugged.

"I understand." Link reached out his other hand and cupped Zelda's cheek. "Can I at least walk you home?"

Zelda laughed.

"Oh sure. It's so far from here."

Link and Zelda walked hand in hand up the stairs. When they got to the small hallway between their bedrooms, they stopped and looked into each other's eyes.

"Thanks for walking me home." Zelda said with a grin.

"It's no problem. My place isn't far from here." Link returned Zelda's smile for a moment. But it slowly faded as he released Zelda's hands and slowly moved one of them to her face. "Can I have a goodnight kiss?"

Zelda couldn't find her voice. She nodded.

Link leaned down while Zelda leaned up on her tiptoes. Link kept one hand against her cheek while they shared a chaste kiss. But the second their lips met, the familiar warmth, the surge of electricity, passed between them.

Zelda sighed against Link's lips and that was all he needed. He moved his other hand to the other side of her face and held her tightly to him. His lips parted and, before Zelda could do the same, he was forcing them apart to get inside.

Zelda wrapped her arms around Link's neck and clung to him as their kiss deepened. She was only aware of his lips and his tongue mingling with hers, and the feeling of being lifted off the ground and pressed to the wall.

"Mmm. Link." She finally broke away, breathing heavily. "Slow. Remember?"

"You're right." Link gently set Zelda on her feet and took his hands from her face. "I'm sorry. Goodnight Zelda."

"Goodnight Link." She started walking backwards into her room, but tripped over her feet and fell into the doorframe.

"Are you okay?" Link asked, stifling a laugh.

"Y-Yeah. Fine." Zelda quickly disappeared into her room. She pressed her back to the wall and tried to catch her breath.

Once she had calmed down considerably, she started to fish through the different piles of clothing. She pulled out a longer T-shirt and tossed it onto her bed while she took off her shirt, pants, and bra. Then she pulled the T-shirt over her head.

She flicked off the lights and dove onto her bed. But when she did, she breathed in deeply and caught Link's scent still on her sheets. She pressed her face to the place and took deep breaths. Even the smell of him was driving her crazy.

Before long, the calming process that Zelda had gone through wasn't working anymore. She could feel her heart pounding hard in her chest.

Zelda jumped off the bed and went to the doorway. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw Link standing in his boxers and T-shirt in his own doorway. They stared at each other for not even half a second before they snapped into action.

Zelda ran and leapt onto Link, her legs wrapping around his waist and her arms around his neck. He caught her and held her in his arms as their lips attacked one another's. Link kicked his door shut as he moved them back into his room.

"What happened…to taking it…slow?" Link managed to murmur between their rough, hungry kisses. He threw himself back on the bed, steadying Zelda on top of him.

"Shut up and kiss me." Zelda whispered breathlessly.

Link complied. His hands roamed from her hair, down her face, and over her breasts. He could tell by the heat coming from them that she was braless. He brushed his thumbs over her nipples. They hardened almost instantly beneath them.

He tugged at her shirt and she nodded, sitting up and lifting her arms. Link pulled the shirt up, but became more gentle when he pulled it over her head. When he had discarded it to the floor, he gently pushed Zelda onto her back.

Link hovered over her, his hands on her breasts. He couldn't stop squeezing and caressing them. But after awhile his lips were hungry for more of Zelda's. He returned his mouth to hers and continued their fevered kissing.

Then his phone began to vibrate on floor.

"Your phone." Zelda mumbled against his lips.

"Who cares?" Link pulled away and picked up his cell phone. It was Grace. "It's nobody important."

He tossed it back down. He removed his shirt.

Zelda remained laying on the bed. She watched Link take off his shirt and marveled at his body. She remembered him being gangly and skinny as a teenager. Now he was muscular and toned.

She smiled at the memory and looked down. Her eyes caught the screen of his phone and the smile froze on her face when she saw her mom's name displayed there.

"Link…why is my mom calling you?"


End file.
